Half Life 2: Episode 3
by EvilProduct
Summary: The third installment in the HL2 series, My version at least. Contains spoilers for Eps 1&2 and Portal. Please Review! Rated T for Mild language and Mild violence. Story is complete.
1. Discovered Feelings

**Half-Life 2: Episode 3**

_--Note: 1). I Do Not Own any aspect of the Half-Life series. 2). This is my take on what should happen in Episode 3. I do not have any confirmed details about the new series installment. 3). DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED HL2:EP.2 YET!!!!! It contains major spoilers. Enjoy and please review.—_

**Chapter 01 – Discovered Feelings**

Gordon Freeman fell to the floor. The Combine Advisors telekinetic hold on him and Alyx had broken once DOG had scared them away. This allowed Alyx to run over to her father's corpse. Eli lied on the floor. He looked more peaceful as he had ever looked in life. The Advisor had stabbed him in the back of the head, but not mutilated him. Alyx ran over and clutched his body in her arms.

"NO! DAD! Please God no! No…" Gordon heard no more. He didn't know if it was the shock of the fall or the shock of Eli's death which caused it, but (whatever it was) Gordon passed out. Alyx's voice echoed in his mind before he faded out to sleep.

Hours later Gordon started to stir. Alyx's voice still echoed in his mind. "Gordon…?" Alyx repeated his name and asked if he was awake. Suddenly, Gordon realized he was awake. He opened his eyes and sat up on the makeshift bed Dr. Kliener had put together in the White Forest hideout. Alyx sat over him with a happy look on her face.

"Gordon! Thank God you're okay!" Alyx threw her arms around Gordon with more force than she ever had before. She almost knocked Gordon over. Alyx spoke up again, still embracing Gordon. "Although, I should have known you would survive. You always do…." Gordon could hear the sadness in her voice. She was trying hard to hold back tears. "I couldn't lose you too…" She said in a whispery tone. That was when the tears started. Gordon quickly embraced her back. Then he did something ha hadn't done in over 22 years, due to the G-Man putting him in stasis. It was crackly and guttural at first, but Gordon fixed it quickly. That was when he said his first words in years.

"Alyx…" he cleared his voice. "It'll all be fine." Alyx jumped back in surprise.

"Gordon! You…You…Your voice! You can speak!"

"Yes, I can speak. I just haven't in a while." Alyx still just sat there in astonishment. Then her mind quickly hopped off the subject and back to that of Eli's death. Gordon noticed this and spoke up again just as the tears began to come again and Alyx embraced him again. "Alyx…Your father loved you more than anything else in the world. I can tell you that the last thing he would ever want you to do is cry for him. He would want you to carry on." Alyx looked up at Gordon and smiled through her tears.

"You're right. He would want that. And, there is a bright side to it." She said.

"And what would that be?" he asked.

"I still have my Guardian Angel here to protect me." She said gesturing to Gordon. This made him smile. That's when Alyx said something that completely shocked him. "Gordon, I…I…Gordon, I love you!" Alyx grabbed Gordon once again and squeezed him as hard as she could. Gordon's eyes widened. She was in love with him? Gordon had thought about her in that way before. All those times where their lives were in jeopardy or they were safe, there was always that tension between them. Suddenly, Gordon realized it. He thought back to all those moments between them. Those high tension moments where the entire world seemed lost to them were always the best between them. Then he remembered that moment in the train yard. That moment when the Hunter attacked Alyx and trapped Gordon under rubble, he remembered the sheer terror he felt when he thought she was dead. Gordon spoke up to Alyx again and said something he never thought he'd say.

"I love you too Alyx. Since the moment I met you I've known. I just never had enough courage to say it." Alyx looked up at him and their eyes met. Slowly the inevitable moment that had been ready to happen for all this time came. Gordon and Alyx's lips met and they passionately kissed for over a minute. When that was over Alyx spoke.

"I've wanted to do that for so long." She said.

"How about again?" he said. She nodded and they locked lips again. Alyx slowly pushed Gordon down and soon they were laying down making out on the bed. That's when the door to the room opened. Gordon and Alyx almost jumped off the bed. Barney Calhoun had walked into the bunkroom. He must have arrived at White Forest while Gordon was unconscious. He was still clad in his Combine uniform.

"Hey Alyx, How's he…" Barney marveled at the sight of Gordon and Alyx together. There was that moment of uncomfortable silence that everyone hated. "Um…uh…Am I interrupting something?" Gordon and Alyx blushed. Barney broke the silence and gasped with relief. "Oh Thank god! Do you know how long we've been waiting for this to happen. Me and Kleiner have had a bet for a few months now. He owes me fifty bucks." With that, Barney walked out laughing. Gordon and Alyx looked at each other and began to laugh as well.


	2. Funeral

**Chapter 02 – Funeral**

Gordon Freeman woke up next to Alyx Vance. She was laying next to him sleeping peacefully. Gordon couldn't exactly remember when he had fallen asleep. All he could remember was him and Alyx embracing in their first revelation of love. He was still wearing his HEV suit and she was fully clothed, so he could guess what they didn't do. Gordon could only stare at Alyx, until he got up to check on the other survivors in the next room. He left Alyx to wake up when she was ready. There was no need for her to experience any more stress today. Gordon walked through the door to the lab. Dr. Kliener was waiting for him with Barney by his side over at an examination table to Gordon's left. The lab wasn't much different from a normal lab. There was assorted medical equipment all around the room and a giant computer taking up the entire right wall. Gordon turned to look at Kliener once again.

"I hope you're happy Gordon, I'm out fifty dollars because of you and Alyx." Gordon chuckled at that. Barney spoke.

"I have really got to buy you that beer Gordon. You deserve it." Gordon smiled again, but quickly switched subjects and went to the topic on everyone's mind.

"What happened while I was out?" he asked.

"I see you got your voice back. Knew it was just a matter of time. That's another fifty bucks Doc." Barney said.

"Barney! This is not the time, Gordon asked a serious question." Kliener got serious. "Gordon…Eli is dead. His body is being stored in the next room." he said. "I wanted to wait for Alyx so we could arrange a funeral. It's the least we could do. Also, the Combine scattered after DOG scared off the Advisers in the hanger. With the giant portal closed, I see no reason for them to attack anytime soon. We're safe here, for now at least." At that moment the door opened behind Gordon. Almost as if on cue, Alyx walked in.

"Hello Gordon, Kliener, Barney." Alyx was met with looks of mixed pity and surprise. "Um, what's going on here?" She wrapped her right arm around Gordon's left.

"Well, Alyx. I'm sorry to bring up the topic, but we're burying your father today."

"Oh…okay…" Alyx was visibly hurting, still coping with the loss of her father.

"We won't trouble you to see the body, but we are burying him in the forest today. It's what he would have wanted. Magnusson is outside now digging a proper grave with DOG."

"Yeah…Um, I'm gonna go get some air." With that she walked out the door to the White Forest."

"I think I'd better follow her, just in case the Combine decide to get tricky." Gordon ran after Alyx.

Once Gordon was outside a sharp pain hit him in the head. A massive migraine that quickly escalated took over his head. Gordon clutched his head as a high pitched ringing struck his ears. He fell to his knees. Then, the ringing stopped along with the headache and was replaced with silence. Gordon looked around. The trees had stopped swaying. There were leaves in the air that did not fall. Gordon guessed at what was happening. This was the work of him. His voice filled the air, The G-Man's voice.

"_Well, Well, Well. Gordon Freeman…" _Gordon turned around to see that wicked man. The demon in the gray suit they called the G-Man. "_Alyx seems well. How is Eli?"_

"You bastard! You killed him! You made the Adviser kill him! You're the cause of all of this!" Gordon yelled. Another headache hit him. He fell as before.

"_No Freeman. I am simply an adviser myself, an adviser to the highest bidder. Your contract is mine. I am just here to advise you now." _The G-Man said.

"Why did you manipulate us? Why did you cause all of this? The Black Mesa incident was because of you! It allowed the Combine to take over the world! You are responsible for this!" Gordon yelled.

"_Now, Now. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have met your precious Alyx Vance." _Gordon stopped at this. As much as he hated to admit it, he was right. Gordon almost spoke again, but was cut off by a bright spark behind him and the voice of a familiar friend.

"Freeman! Take this quick!" A Vortigaunt had teleported behind Gordon with a Pistol in hand. He quickly tossed the handgun at Gordon. He caught it quick and turned to aim it at the G-Man.

"_Fine, I'll cut this meeting short. Just remember Eli's last wish. Find the Borealis. That ship holds your answers." _With that, the G-Man walked off to the trees in the forest behind him and let time run normal again, indicated by the leaves finally falling to the ground. Gordon turned to the Vortigaunt behind him. Gordon was forever in the Vortigaunts' debts. After all the time they devoted to the resistance movement and them saving Alyx from an early death, Gordon was eternally grateful.

"The suited man speaks the unholy truth. The Freeman must travel to the Borealis to finish the battle. New answers and questions will be revealed there."

"Thank you…um, I'm sorry, do you have a name?" Gordon asked.

"Yes, I am Zenlo, a seer of the Vortigaunt race. I have a special gift. I can see into the future whenever I please."

"If you can, can you tell me anything else?"

"Unfortunately, the Freeman cannot know more about his fate. Doing so could cause a number of unfortunate things to occur. I will only tell you this. Protect the Alyx Vance. Yours and her lives are intertwined. Do not let harm fall on her."

"That is one thing I will not let happen in a million years. She will be completely safe in my care. Do I have your support?"

"The Freeman will always have the support of the Vortigaunt brethren. Farewell Dr. Freeman." The Vortigaunt began to glow a purple color and suddenly disappeared before Gordon's eyes. Gordon tried to process what had just happened. His thoughts quickly shifted to Alyx once again and he ran off to comfort her over the loss of Eli.

----------

Hours later the funeral was held. Eli's body laid in a makeshift wooden coffin suspended over the six foot deep hole in the ground about a mile into the forest. The sun shone through the gaps in the ceiling that the towering trees created. All Eli's friends stood over the grave. Alyx held onto Gordon's arm and squeezed tightly, trying to hold back the tears. DOG's towering form stood behind the couple and Dr. Kliener stood to their left. Kliener's odd de-clawed headcrab LaMarr was present as well. This was the first time Gordon had ever seen the creature stand still since meeting it. Barney and Arne Magnusson stood on the other side of the grave. Everyone present, who could, said a few words in memory of their fallen comrade. Then it was Gordon's turn. Everyone knew he was a man of few words. But he hadn't shown any extreme emotion towards his friend's death. Everyone was anxious to see what he had to say.

"Eli Vance was a good man. He was the first man I met at Black Mesa and the only man who ever really showed me respect there. I wish him peace in the next world." Gordon bent down to the pile of dirt next to the grave to deposit his handful of dirt into the grave as the others did. That's when it finally hit. Tears began to fall onto Gordon's glasses lenses. Gordon dropped his dirt in and slumped down on the dirt behind him. Alyx knelt down next to him and hugged Gordon once again. Embracing and appreciating the importance of the funeral of Eli Vance. The inscription of his grave marker read "Eli Vance Father Friend Rebel." All Gordon could do at that time is stare at the marker, let the tears flow, and silently curse the existence of the G-Man.


	3. Aurora Borealis

**Chapter 03 – Aurora Borealis**

Everyone at White Forest mourned for Eli Vance. However, they knew the gravity of the situation in which they were in. The peace given by the Combine would not last forever. Gordon Freeman had been given a mission. Both his enemies and his friend had told him to find this ship called the "_Borealis_". He wanted to know everything he could about the ship. This task was given to Dr. Kliener. Kliener sat at the one wall of his White Forest laboratory which held a giant computer. Barney, Magnusson, and Alyx stood by as well.

"What is the '_Borealis'_?" Gordon asked.

"Give me a minute." An image flickered onto the giant main screen. The picture was that of the _Borealis_ still on the dock. "Ah, here it is. The _Borealis_ was a freightliner built 7 years ago by a company called Aperture Science. It served as transport for the company's valuable cargo, and was last docked in City 17's harbor." Kliener explained.

"What makes it so valuable?" Alyx asked.

"That's an interesting question." Kliener read further. "It says here that 2 years ago the ship mysteriously vanished along with the dock it was ported in. All reports indicate that the last person seen with the ship was a woman wearing something similar to a prison convict's clothes."

"You think one person could make a whole ship and its dock disappear like that?" asked Barney

"No, it's impossible." Magnusson remarked.

"Wait, it goes on. Apparently, around the same time the _Borealis_ disappeared, the Aperture Science Research Center was destroyed in a mysterious explosion."

"Wait, what do you mean 'mysterious explosion'? Someone should know something about it." Barney asked.

"Yes, you'd think. But what makes it mysterious is that there were no casualties of the explosion. Police reports say that the facility's main computer system malfunctioned and destroyed the building. However, no bodies were found and no survivors were known to even exist. It turns out that no one had seen anyone going in or out of the center for some months before the explosion."

"That is really strange. What the hell was going on in there?" asked Alyx

"Well we didn't really know either. That was until Dr. Mossman brought it up. Apparently, she found the _Borealis._ That was where she was in that video you salvaged from the Citadel. But from what we saw happen on that video we can only suspect the worst." Gordon recalled the strange video Alyx got off the Citadel's main computer. Mossman was shown somewhere (most likely a ship) delivering a status report before getting attacked by Combine soldiers.

"Dr. Mossman mentioned 'an experiment' in her report. What did she mean?" Gordon asked.

"Well, Dr. Mossman's theory was that Aperture Science had created some world changing device that proved to powerful for them. Her theory was that the experiment had destroyed them and forced them to destroy the Borealis and its cargo along with the experiment. But she couldn't be sure. So she requested to go off to find the _Borealis_ on her own with a few resistance members."

"And that video was her telling us that she had found the _Borealis_." Gordon interjected. "Well, we know one thing."

"What's that Gordon?" Alyx asked.

"We know that whatever that cargo is, the Combine wants it. And they seem to want it bad." At that moment, a loud beeping noise startled the group. A message flashed on the giant computer screen. 'Incoming Message' appeared on the monitor.

"Who could that possibly be? Who else knows we are here?" asked Barney.

"The only person I can think of is Mossman." Shock hit the group. Could Mossman still be alive? A video popped up on the screen. It was Mossman. She recorded a message and sent it to us.

"I don't know if this will even get to you. This is the only working terminal on the _Borealis_." Mossman looked scared and she had a head-wound that hadn't been tended to.  
"I'm making this video saying good-bye. The Combine is outside and have me trapped. They killed the other resistance members. I don't know what I can do to help, but I'll do what I can. Gordon, Barney, Alyx, Kliener, Eli…I need your help. The _Borealis_ is in Alaska. There is a resistance hideout a few miles from here in an old abandoned Aperture Science center. There are some rebels still holed up there and there is a working teleporter at the base. I still haven't found the project on the ship." Mossman slowed down and a look of sadness came over her face. Then she picked up a shotgun, cocked it, and said "Good-Bye my friends, especially you Eli. I love you." Then Mossman walked off screen. Gunfire could be heard for the next 20 seconds of the message before it was cut off.

Everyone looked around the room at everyone else. Mossman's unheard confession of love to Eli only pushed Alyx and Gordon closer together. Gordon was the one to break the silence.

"Tell me you have a teleporter somewhere in this hideout Kliener. Just tell me that." Gordon looked at Dr. Kliener. The look in his eyes confirmed Gordon's suspicion that the answer was no.

"There is another resistance base further into the forest a few miles. I built a teleporter there. I haven't had time to build one here. The Combine was at our gates ever since the Citadel was destroyed." Gordon felt a similar feeling that he always felt before the group's plans fell apart around them. Alyx looked up at Gordon.

"Well, looks like we're gonna have to fight for our lives again. Places to go, Combine to kill, and Mossman to save. This should be fun." Gordon always loved Alyx's sarcastic comments.

----------

Barney and Gordon finished loading up the car Kliener had been modifying for Gordon and Alyx. The car had been loaded with a passenger seat turret and a lot of ammo. Gordon got suited with all his weapons. The pistol the Vortigaunt gave him earlier rested in a holster Kliener installed in Gordon's HEV suit. In the trunk of the car there were the Combine issue SMG, Shotgun, Pulse Rifle, and Grenades that Gordon had acquired since escaping City 17. There was also Gordon's .357 Magnum, a resistance issue Crossbow, and the ever trusty Gravity Gun which Gordon slung around his back.

"Anything else?" Barney asked. Gordon realized what he was missing. He looked all around him quickly, patting down his HEV suit. Barney raised his hand and smiled at Gordon signaling him to stop. He reached behind him to a storage compartment on his Combine armor uniform and brought out Gordon's old friend. Barney handed Gordon his trusty crowbar. Gordon turned it around in his hands, admiring his old friend. "Don't lose that again, I'm tired of keeping it for you." Gordon chuckled.

"You ready to go yet Gordon?" Alyx yelled from the warehouse door across the yard. Gordon yelled yes back as he was walking over to her. Alyx hugged Dr. Kliener and Barney as they were saying good-bye. DOG walked over to them making sad whimpering noises. Alyx comforted him and said she would be back. Gordon walked over to Dr. Kliener.

"I've installed a small camera and microphone into the collar of your HEV suit, and this," Kliener handed him a small earpiece. "This is what I will be communicating with you through. Try not to take it out of your ear, I will see everything you see and hear everything you hear."

"Thanks Doc. Your help will be very valuable on this one." Gordon held out his right hand gesturing for Kliener to shake.

"Don't thank me. After yours and Alyx's stunt at the Citadel calming the reactor, Eli suggested the earpiece and camera to keep an eye on you." Gordon looked up to the sky.

"Thank you Eli. I promise that Alyx is safe." Gordon shook Kliener's hand and turned around and walked to Alyx and Barney.

"How 'bout I get you that beer when you come back?" Barney asked.

"I'd like that." Gordon replied. He turned to Alyx and grabbed her hand. They walked to the car, started it and drove into the wilderness once again to face the Combine in the unknown forests ahead.


	4. Hunters of the Forest

**Chapter 04 – Hunters of the Forest.**

The car that Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance were riding in shook all over as they ran over countless rocks lying on the forest floor. Alyx sat to Gordon's right in the passenger seat manning the Resistance Model Turret Barney installed an hour before. The Combine was suspiciously quiet at the moment. Hopefully they won't attack on the couple's way to the resistance hideout they were headed to. Dr. Kliener's voice was in Gordon's ear due to the com-link.

"The resistance hideout shouldn't be too far from here. I'd say about another mile or two." Alyx heard the message as well with her com-link.

"There's no sign of any Combine yet guys, but I can't say they're not out there." Alyx was right. Judging from past experiences with the Combine, they couldn't be too far away. They were probably waiting for the two rebels, ready to sabotage all their plans.

"Freeman, this is Magnusson. I just tried to radio the rebel hideout, but there was no answer. Be on the lookout for Combine forces." Alyx didn't like that reply.

"Great, just what we need. Another rebel base overrun with the enemy." She said. Gordon just kept driving the car.

A few minutes later Gordon had to stop the car at a fallen log. He offered to get out of the car to move it off the trail. Alyx was hesitant at the idea.

"Be careful Gordon, it could be a trap." Gordon understood the risk and took a shotgun out of the trunk, just in case. He slung it around his back and switched it for his ever helpful Gravity Gun. Gordon was right in thinking that the gun would help move the log. The gun lifted up one side of the log and Gordon moved it to the right side of the road. Suddenly, Gordon heard a snap. He looked around to find the source of the sound. Gordon put the Gravity Gun back on his back and pulled out the shotgun. He looked toward Alyx and whispered.

"Look alive Alyx." She did so and grabbed the helm of the turret. Gordon slowly walked behind the car. Another snap was heard. Gordon cocked the shotgun. A low rumbling noise soon filled the air and increased in volume quickly. Gordon looked above him and saw the last thing he wanted to see. A Combine soldier transport flew overhead. At the same moment, a shot was heard. A bullet ricocheted off the car behind Gordon. Soon, Combine soldiers started running out from behind the many trees of the White Forest shooting their SMGs at Alyx and Gordon

"Gordon get back to the car!" he heard Alyx yell. Gordon squeezed off a few shots from the shotgun and he saw about 4 Combine soldiers fall. Gordon bolted for the car's trunk. He quickly grabbed 2 grenades from it and lobbed them at the soldiers. Two big explosions quickly lit up the great forest and ended the service of about a dozen Combine officers. Kliener screamed in Gordon's ear.

"For God's sake, Get back to the car Gordon!" He didn't need to be told once more. Gordon ran back to the door less driver's side and floored the gas pedal. The car quickly sped off as Alyx started firing the turret at the Combine behind them. She killed a few that were chasing them.

"Some of those soldiers were Elites Doc!" Gordon yelled into the microphone on his collar. Elites were the soldiers the Combine sent out only for the major jobs they needed done. The fact that they were present meant that the cargo on the _Borealis_ was even more important than the Citadel itself was.

"I noticed Gordon. This is not good. This is not good at all." Kliener replied. "Just keep driving and worry about getting to the rebel base. Do you have the situation under control Alyx?"

"Yeah, I got it. I'm a better shot than I thought. We just have a few soldiers on our tail, and a lot of them are down already." She said. She squeezed off a few more rounds and down went 3 more Combine soldiers. Gordon sped up and weaved around a bunch of trees. Soon the Combine's numbers thinned and it was quiet again. Gordon kept driving. He looked over at Alyx.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm as good as I can be." She said. She squeezed off a few more rounds of the turret. "I know they want to kill us, but this turret is actually kind of fun." She laughed and then got back to being a lookout.

A few minutes later, another horrible sound was heard, a sound that Gordon first heard at the train yard when Alyx was attacked. Gordon instantly knew what was following them.

"Alyx, we got a Hunter on our tail." The same mechanical moaning sound was heard again.

"Not another one of those again." She said. Gordon reached through the hole in the backseat and picked up his Crossbow that rested in the trunk. Luckily, it was just in time. About 40 yards ahead a Combine Hunter jumped out of the trees and stood on the trail. The massive creature let out a massive mechanical battle-cry like howl and began to run forward. Alyx let loose with her turret. Gordon kept his foot on the gas pedal and his right hand on the wheel. He lifted the loaded Crossbow with his left hand out of the driver's side and fired at the Hunter. Gordon scored a direct hit at the creature's top mechanical eye, making it shatter into bits and pieces of glass and mechanical parts. This made the great beast slow down. Gordon kept driving toward it. He handed the Crossbow to Alyx, who quickly reloaded it for Gordon. The Hunter recovered from its injury and set its sights back on the hot rod quickly riding toward it. It gave out another howl and shot a few flechettes at the car and started running toward it. The flechettes missed the car and exploded behind it. Gordon grabbed two grenades from the trunk and pulled the pins. His timing had to be exact. The car was nearing the Hunter. When the car was about 3 feet from the Hunter, Gordon took the two grenades and tossed them into the hole he had made on the Hunter's head. Gordon drove under the Hunter through its legs and behind it. Before the Hunter had time to turn around, the grenades detonated and blew another hole in the Hunter's head. Gordon quickly aimed the crossbow behind him and fired another rod at the Hunter. This final blow, along with Alyx's constant turret fire, made the Hunter's legs give out and made it fall to the ground defeated.

"YeaaaaHooooo! We did it!" Alyx yelled.

"Good work you two!" Kliener said through the earpiece. "But you're not done yet. The base is dead ahead. Be on the look out, there's still no answer from them."

"You got it Doc." Gordon replied to the scientist. He kept driving forward through the trees. He could visibly see the base from his position through the trees. Its condition did not look good though. Gordon drove up to it finally. Oddly, there was no one outside. Gordon looked around and yelled out. "Hello!? Is there anyone here?" Gordon stepped out of the car, as did Alyx. Gordon looked to his right at the resistance barricade blocking their path. Then he looked to his left and saw something on the tree that made his heart skip a beat. He told Alyx to come over. She reacted almost the same way.

"Oh God no. Not here. They can't be here too." She said. Gordon went back to the car's trunk and picked up his shotgun and Gravity Gun and slung them over his shoulder onto his back. Then he picked up his trusty crowbar. These weapons would be helpful because this base, hidden in the forest, was infested with headcrabs.


	5. Vile Creatures

**Chapter 05 – Vile Creatures**

Gordon Freeman knocked a headcrab off the tree outside with his crowbar. The headcrabs were no doubt inside the rebel base he and Alyx were trying to get to. The headcrabs were nasty creatures. When they attached to a human's head, they somehow killed them then controlled their corpse like a zombie. Gordon had faced their likes before, but the time could not possibly worse for him to fight them now. Alyx fired two shots from her handgun into the fallen headcrab, effectively killing it. Gordon switched to the shotgun slung over his back and cocked it. He turned to his love, Alyx.

"You ready Alyx?" He asked. She nodded yes and walked over to him. He held out his arms and they embraced. When they stopped hugging, Alyx stole a kiss from Gordon. He quickly returned the favor. "I love you." he said.

"I love you too Gordon." She replied. They moved away from each other. Gordon walked toward the door of the house the rebels called a hideout, as did Alyx. Gordon clicked on the flashlight built into the collar of his HEV suit. He heard Dr. Kliener's voice in his ear through the earpiece.

"Be careful Gordon, you've faced headcrabs before. You know what they're capable of." He said. Gordon signaled to Alyx that he was ready by nodding his head and she returned the gesture. Quickly, he ran to the door and kicked it in. The door swung open and bits of wood splintered every which way from the lock area. Gordon slowly walked into the house. His flashlight proved useful because the lights were off and the trees blocked the sun from the windows. Gordon looked around the room. Strangely he could find no trace of human life. There were signs of a struggle and there was some blood spatter on the walls, but Gordon saw no bodies.

"Do you hear that Gordon?" Alyx said. Gordon was suddenly aware of a small ticking sound. It sounded like a small creature communicating with something. The sound quickly escalated and soon turned into a high pitched screech. That's when the light flicked on. Gordon looked around the illuminated room and saw the threat that he would face. The headcrabs had apparently become more resourceful since Gordon last met them. The room Gordon was in looked as normal as a regular shack. There was a large table, about 3 chairs, and what was once a TV scattered around the room. Blood stained the walls and the curtains covered the windows. The headcrabs had hid themselves well in the dark and the screeching was their way of saying 'attack'. Two poison headcrab zombies clung to the decrepit wooden ceiling and three normal zombies emerged from behind the table. Alyx and Gordon reacted quickly. Gordon took on the fast zombies who dropped from the ceiling with his shotgun. Alyx took care of the other three slow ones across the room. The fast zombies ran to Gordon, one of which fell before it got to him. The second jumped on top of him, knocking him down. The wretched thing slobbered and shrieked in Gordon's face while it tried to break the defense of his shotgun. Gordon hit the zombie in the face with the butt of his shotgun, aimed it at it the crazed creature and fired at the demon's head. The zombie was thrown across the room. Meanwhile Alyx was dealing with the other three zombies. Alyx fired her handgun at the three beasts and two of them dropped from their wounds. The third zombie knocked Alyx over and fell on top of her. The zombie knocked away her gun and all Alyx could do was hold the creature away.

"Gordon! Help!" Alyx yelled as Gordon shot away his zombie. Gordon heard her cry and flipped over to look at Alyx. Gordon quickly cocked his shotgun and fired at the zombie on top of Alyx. The zombie was thrown off of Alyx by the shotgun blast. Alyx and Gordon stood up and looked around the room. Alyx was the one to ask the question.

"Hey doctor, where's the teleporter? This is just an ordinary shack."

"Yes, I know." he replied. "Since the destruction of the Citadel, some of the rebels suggested we retreat even further into obscurity because the Combine had evacuated City 17 for the forest. So, I modified a few hideouts to look normal at first glance. The actual hideout is located under the shack. There's a hatch in the center of the room. Look for the loose floorboard." Gordon looked around the center of the room for the floorboard. Alyx found it first.

"Here it is Gordon." She said. Gordon pulled out his crowbar and stuck it into the crevice of the floorboard. One pull of the bar made the board flip up. Suddenly, the floor began to shake. Gordon and Alyx started moving away from each other. Soon they realized that the floor was opening. Gordon jumped to Alyx's side of the room. As the floor was opening, an elevator rose from the ground.

"Is that supposed to be happening?" Gordon asked.

"Just wait for it to rise. We've re-established communication with the rebels underground. They turned off their radios when the headcrabs attacked for fear they would find them as they did the lookouts above. When we mentioned that you had cleared the cabin over the radio, they replied quickly." Kliener replied. Once the elevator had risen fully, Alyx and Gordon boarded it. They flipped the switch to make it go down. "The base is about 2 stories below." Dr. Kliener said.

When the elevator was about 10 feet below the ground the hatch above in the shack closed and darkness engulfed the elevator shaft. Gordon couldn't see anything at all. Soon he felt something touching his arm. Alyx had moved over to Gordon and wrapped her arm around his and they were soon holding hands. The elevator was slow and the trip was long, but Alyx's embrace kept Gordon in high spirits as the couple descended the dark elevator shaft. Soon a flicker of light emerged from below the two on the elevator.

"Look Gordon, we're almost there." Alyx said. The streams of light moved up the elevator and illuminated Gordon's face. Alyx noticed the expression on his face. He wasn't looking at her; he was staring at something behind her. "What's wrong Gor-" a quick screech and a gunshot was heard. A headcrab had survived the fight upstairs and traveled down the shaft. Just before it had attacked Alyx Gordon shot it with his 9mm pistol.

"Are you okay Alyx?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She said. "Thank you Gordon. You know, I can never repay you for all the times you saved me." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "But I can do that." She said.

"That's all I'll ever need." He replied. He kissed her once more. The elevator reached the bottom floor. The grated gate at the bottom opened and Gordon and Alyx were met with the friendly faces of the rebels in the hideout.

"Thank you Dr. Freeman and Alyx Vance, Dr. Kliener called ahead and told us you were coming. We have no time to lose." Gordon and Alyx stepped off the elevator and followed the rebel.


	6. Yet Another Problem pt 1

**Chapter 06 – Yet Another Problem: pt. 1**

Gordon and Alyx stepped off the elevator and followed the rebel through the resistance base. The base was underground, but Dr. Kliener was a smart and resourceful man. He had built the equivalent of a large Nuclear Fallout Shelter for the rebels. The whole base was wall to wall metal and the rock floor was covered with a layer of concrete. Immediately after exiting the elevator there was an open doorway leading to a small room on the right that held a computer terminal and a table with a communications radio. About 10 feet in front of the elevator there was a fenced off area that held shelves of ammunition and resistance model weapons. The hallway led past the ammo area to the right to another hallway. In this hallway there were 4 closed doorways on each wall that the rebel said housed the bunk rooms. This hallway lead to a larger room that held a long table that could hold 20 people at once. The plates on the table and plasma screen television on the wall across the room suggested that this room was used for dining and as a conference room of sorts. The rebel leading the way pointed out a large vault-like door on the left side of the table.

"That doorway leads to the laboratory that Dr. Kliener built for us." He said. Gordon and Alyx could hear Dr. Kliener's voice through their com-links.

"Yes, the teleporter is located in there." The good doctor said. The rebel allowed Alyx and Gordon to go through. The laboratory looked much like Kliener's from City 17. There were assorted gadgets on shelves to the right and the teleporter took up the entire far wall.

"Well let's get this over with and hope nothing goes wrong." Alyx said. Dr. Kliener replied to this with a less than appreciated statement.

"Well, it's not that simple." He said.

"What are you saying Doc?" Gordon asked.

"Well you see, the time I had to build the teleporter was minimal. The Combine was about to find White Forest, so I had to finish the teleporter with making a small sacrifice. It seemed a miniscule problem at the time, but I must address it now." He said.

"What are you saying Kliener?" Alyx asked.

"Well, I didn't have enough time to construct a power cell adequate enough for our standards. So I used the first thing I could salvage from the wreckage blown from City 17. I found a Combine-constructed power cell blown from the wreckage of Nova Prospekt." Gordon remembered his experiences at the prison once known as Nova Prospekt. Gordon and Alyx used the teleporter there to escape to Kliener's City 17 lab. However, the power cells used in Combine technology take long periods of time to charge. The doctor explained on. "I used the power cells from Nova Prospekt in the teleporter at this base. However the rebels stationed there told me that when the headcrabs attacked they shut off all their generators except the one powering their radio for safety." Gordon guessed the end of Kliener's statement.

"And the power cells need to charge before we can use them again, right?" He said. Alyx's expression changed from hopeful to annoyed.

"Oh, come on! Not another delay. Mossman needs us. For all we know she could be dead by now!" Alyx yelled.

"Now, Now Alyx, Dr. Mossman is very resourceful. I'm sure she's doing fine. Unfortunately, the charging process takes longer on this teleporter than it did at Nova Prospekt's." Kliener replied.

"Of course it does." Gordon said. "How long do we have to wait Doc?"

"Well…approximately 9 hours." Kliener replied. Needless to say the group was less than enthused with that number.

"9 Hours!?" Alyx yelled. "Nova Prospekt's fuel cells only took a half hour to load up!"

"I realize that. However, the fuel cells were damaged after the Citadel's destruction and now take longer to charge."

"Okay Kliener, we'll wait." Gordon replied. He wasn't happy with the idea that they had to wait to find the _Borealis,_ but he was used to the group having to change their plans. Whenever they got close to an objective, something was ready and waiting to stop them in their tracks. Alyx and Gordon walked back to the hallway heading to the bunk rooms and found an empty one. Much like the many other resistance bases, the bunk rooms were very small. They contained one bed in each room. The bed reached from the front of the room to the back on the left wall. The only other things in the room were the ceiling light and a case of vertical shelves on the right wall. After three resistance members went above to retrieve Gordon's other weapons from the hot rod, he stored them on the shelves for the night.

Alyx sat down on the bed in the small room. Gordon offered to sleep on the floor so the bed would be hers. But she resisted.

"Come here Gordon." Gordon sat down on the bed next to her. She had that look in her eyes once again. That look she always had in those tender moments between the two was there. The couple was soon kissing once again. Alyx pushed Gordon down as she had when they first kissed in White Forest. Once they were lying down, Alyx broke their kiss. "I love you Gordon." She said.

"I love you too Alyx" After that the couple was lost in the passionate throws of love.

When Gordon woke up the next morning, the first thing he saw was Alyx. Gordon stared at her beautiful face until she woke up about 5 minutes after him.

"Morning Gordon. Have fun?" She said. Gordon smiled and stole a kiss from his love. The couple got out of bed and got dressed. Gordon loaded up his HEV suit with his many weapons and Alyx filled a backpack from the ammo closet with plenty of bullets for her handgun. When they were ready, they went in to check on the teleporter. The rebel who spoke to them earlier was there along with about 4 others.

"The teleporter is almost ready Dr. Freeman. Just about 4 more minutes should do it." Dr. Kliener's voice suddenly tuned in on Gordon's com-link.

"That's not soon enough. I just got word from another rebel outpost. Combine have entered the forest and are sweeping it for threats. Last sighting indicated that they're headed toward you're location. Gordon, you've got to stop those soldiers so they don't reach us." He said.

"Jeez, Not again! We were so close too." Alyx complained. Gordon cocked his shotgun and prepared for yet another Combine assault.


	7. Yet Another Problem pt 2

**Chapter 07 – Yet Another Problem pt. 2**

Gordon Freeman picked up his shotgun and cocked it. Dr. Kliener just reported that the Combine had set out a cleaning squad to wipe out all traces of human threat in the White Forest.

"We have to stop those soldiers before they find us or the White Forest base." Gordon said. Quickly, he had an idea. "Do you have a RPG or rope in this base?" he asked one of the rebels.

"Yeah, Check the ammo closet." The rebel replied.

"Good. First we need to get that RPG and the rope. Then we need to get up the elevator shaft." Gordon replied. The group ran to the entrance hallway to move the plan in motion. The rebels gave Gordon the RPG and a long length of rope. Then they got the elevator operational. Gordon set the RPG against the left wall then quickly pulled out a case of grenades and loaded it onto the elevator. Alyx tried to get on it with him, but he refused.

"Why not?" She asked. Gordon kissed her before boarding the elevator.

"I promise I'll come back. I just don't want to put you in harm's way." Alyx nodded in agreement and let Gordon hit the button to rise in the elevator. "Load up the RPG and be ready with it when I come back." Again she nodded. Gordon was armed with the crate of grenades, the length of rope, an SMG, and his Shotgun. He was ready for the Combine. The elevator shaft was quickly shrouded in darkness as Gordon rose above the exit. 30 seconds later, the shaft was filled with a familiar purple light. Two Vortigaunts had teleported on both sides of Gordon illuminating the shaft with a great light emanating from their left hands. "You could not have come at a better time."

"As Zenlo said earlier, the Freeman will always have the support of the Vortigaunt brethren." The Vort on Gordon's left said.

"Do you two have names as Zenlo does?" Gordon asked.

"Yes." The Vort on Gordon's right said. "I am Lo-gen and this is my brother Rezlan. Thank the Freeman for asking. The Freeman is the first human to ever honor a Vortigaunt with the pleasure of using their given name." Freeman felt a good sensation at that. "What is the plan the Freeman has devised?" Gordon elaborated his plan to the Vortigaunts. When they agreed, Gordon knew they would triumph.

The elevator reached the top of the shaft and Gordon and the two Vorts went to work. The Vorts placed two grenades in each corner of the shack on the surface. Gordon climbed on top of the elevator and placed a grenade on the ceiling in a crack. There was a hatch on the floor of the elevator that leaded to the shaft below. Gordon quickly opened the hatch and climbed below the elevator. He unraveled the rope and tied it a bar on the elevator's floor supports. Before descending the rope, Gordon looked up at the two Vortigaunts above in the shack. He nodded to them, signaling the plan to go into action. The Vortigaunts remembered every word of Gordon's plan. They were to lure the approaching Combine into the shack. Once all of them were inside, the Vortigaunts were to teleport downstairs to the base. Once there, Gordon was to fire the RPG at the elevator's floor, effectively killing the Combine by setting off the Grenades above and sealing the entrance of the rebel base. After that happens, Alyx and Gordon would be free to escape in the teleporter. The plan was fool-proof. Gordon rappeled down the rope and safely landed at the bottom of the shaft.

"Thank God Gordon! After seeing that weird light above us, we thought the worst." Alyx said.

"Is the RPG loaded?" Gordon asked, quickly changing the subject. Alyx nodded and gave Gordon the great gun. "Good. Now we wait." Above, the Vortigaunts had alerted the Combine to their presence. Gordon could hear the clatter of footsteps echoing through the elevator shaft. The Vortigaunts appeared behind the group of rebels.

"The Freeman's plans have gone well. The Combine took the bait." The muffled voices of the Combine soldiers could be heard.

"_Look there's an elevator. Be ready for anything below."_ One Combine said. Gordon could hear the soldiers walking onto the elevator. He reacted quickly with the RPG.

"Stand back!" he yelled. The RPG shot a rocket up the shaft. Gordon heard it hit the elevator. Above, the shocking blast detonated the many grenades in the shack. The Combine soldiers, if not dead, were to be trapped in the falling rubble of the collapsing shack. Soon the rubble began to fall down the shaft. "Get away from the shaft!" Gordon yelled. He immediately ran to Alyx. He knocked her to safety and covered her with himself. The rubble from the shack and the remains of the elevator came crashing down in a pile of flaming wood, rocks, and metal. Once the smoke cleared, Gordon got up to assess the damage. The rebels had gotten away safely, as did the Vortigaunts. The elevator shaft was blocked with the many rocks and the metal bars that once were the elevator.

"Well, looks like the only way out of here now is the teleporter." Alyx remarked. Gordon was about to speak again when a new ungodly sound was heard. A high-pitched screech ran through the air. There were still a few holes in the rubble of the elevator shaft and the sound echoed through them. One of the rebels looked up through one of the holes in the rubble wall. The rebel screamed loudly and jumped back from the wall.

"AHHH! Headcrabs! The blast must have disturbed their nests. There are hundreds of them!" the rebel screamed. Gordon knew what needed to be done.

"Lo-gen, Rezlan, go start the teleporter! Input coordinates for the Aperture Science Center Resistance base in Alaska! Now!" the two Vortigaunts ran down the hall to do just that. "Alyx get the equipment, it's time to go!" Alyx quickly stole a kiss from Gordon before she ran off to collect their equipment. Gordon picked up his SMG just as head crabs began to swarm the elevator shaft. They ran out of the gaps in the rubble by the dozen. Gordon and the rebels fired indiscriminately at the swarms of headcrabs. Of the 8 rebels in the hallway, 3 were attacked by the little beasts. Before they had a chance to change to zombies, Gordon mercy killed them at great reluctance. There were way too many for Gordon to take on alone. Suddenly, Gordon heard Alyx's voice from behind him, down the hallway, in the conference room.

"Gordon, the portal is ready! Get over here!" She yelled. Gordon turned to the rebel captain so as to ask 'are you okay'.

"Go Dr. Freeman! We'll hold them off!" Gordon turned and ran down the hallway. Alyx met him at the lab room door. The two quickly ran to the teleporter across the room. This teleporter was different than Dr. Kliener's. The platform did not need to be raised. All you needed to do was input the coordinates and fire the portal laser at the travelers. Lo-gen and Rezlan stood at the control panel.

"Go Freeman Go!" they yelled. A loud explosion rocked the hallway behind them. The rebel captain had detonated a grenade killing some headcrabs and the rest of the rebels. It was probably to stop his troops from becoming zombies. His sacrifice was for nothing though. The head crabs swarmed the conference room. Gordon and Alyx threw their equipment on the teleporter and jumped on themselves. Just as the headcrabs were about to attack them, Lo-gen and Rezlan activated the portal laser and disappeared themselves. The laser hit Gordon and Alyx and time seemed to stop before them. A headcrab stopped in mid-air in front of the two. They suddenly felt a pulling sensation and they surrendered to the blue light that engulfed them.


	8. Aftermath

**Chapter 08 – Aftermath**

Gordon and Alyx were engulfed by the blue light of the teleporter. The device gave them the sensation of being pulled backwards through space. The teleporter they were destined for began to spark. The gears on the great machine began to whir and spin. Finally, a blue bolt of electricity struck the teleporter from above. A great mist filled the portal chamber. When it cleared, there stood Dr. Gordon Freeman with his love Alyx Vance clutched in his arms. The two were still embracing as if the headcrabs were still there with them. There were 12 rebels in the room with them. One who later identified himself as the group's captain spoke up.

"Dr. Freeman! Ms. Vance!" he said. Gordon opened his eyes and lifted his head off of Alyx's shoulder. He was met with the friendly faces of the rebels. Alyx looked up as well. They walked out of the portal chamber to take a look around. The room they were in was once a functional laboratory. There were two overturned lab tables on the left side of the room. On the left wall there was what once was a group of water preservation tanks. They had been smashed open and shards of glass still littered the floor around them. The right wall was occupied with what was once a two way mirror. It had also been shattered and the adjacent room was visible, the contents of which were 4 desk chairs and a long table across the windowed wall. The only working thing in the room other than the teleporter was a computer terminal. The terminal's monitor was cracked in numerous places and the keyboard below it was missing a bunch of keys. A message appeared on the screen stating 'Incoming Call'. Dr. Kliener's face appeared on screen after that.

"Congratulations Gordon and Alyx, the trackers I implanted in your com-links say that you've made it to Alaska." Kliener stated. Gordon's relief at hearing that statement was large. They were seconds away from being headcrab food just moments before.

"Thanks for the congratulations doc, but we're not done yet." Alyx said. Suddenly, a bright purple spark flashed behind the group. Gordon turned around to be greeted with the faces of his Vortigaunt friends Lo-gen and Rezlan.

"Lo-gen! Rezlan!" Gordon said. "Thanks again for your help back there."

"The Freeman is lucky to be alive. The headcrabs overtook the rebel base and attacked the teleporter after the Freeman and the Alyx Vance escaped." Lo-gen said. His Vortigaunts brother finished his statement.

"The teleporter imploded and destroyed the base. There will be no return trip. The rebels are dead. The captain sacrificed himself to save his troops from the horrible fate of becoming headcrab zombies." said Rezlan.

"May they rest in peace. As for the teleporter, that's a problem." said Dr. Kliener. "However, Magnusson and I have been working on a teleporter here. It should be ready soon enough for you to return. In the meantime we will try to learn anything we can about what became of Dr. Mossman."

"Where is the _Borealis_?" Gordon asked. Kliener didn't answer that, a rebel beat him to it.

"Dr. Mossman went north with a squad of rebels. She agreed for us to inject a tracking chip in her arm. Here have a look." The rebel pulled up a window on the computer monitor beside Kliener's message screen. There was an aerial view of Alaska on the screen that quickly zoomed in to show the Aperture Science Center from above. "This is us." The rebel said. He moved the camera over to a more Northern location. The place where the camera stopped didn't look like much. It was in the center of the Arctic tundra and there was nothing but snow showing. "And Doctor Mossman is here."

"But there's nothing there. Isn't the boat supposed to be there?" Alyx asked. No one had an answer for that at the moment. Then the Rezlan spoke up.

"I am sensing something amiss with this picture. The ship is not on the surface, it is below it." The group gasped. How in the world could a freightliner suddenly disappear and reappear underground? It just didn't make sense. Before any new questions could be arisen, a voice sounded over the intercom system.

"Captain, we have a problem. You should have a look at this. Come to the roof, quick." The voice said. Apparently, a rebel was stationed on the roof.

"Come on Dr. Freeman. You should see whatever it is too." The rebel captain said. Gordon and Alyx followed him out of the laboratory into a small hallway leading to the left. After two doorways, the group came to a large room that looked like a entrance lobby. There was a long line of windows and glass doors leading outside to the Arctic tundra. In the center of the room, there was a receptionist's desk with the Aperture Science logo above it. Behind it, there were two sets of stairs leading from both sides of the desk to upstairs. The group ran up the stairs and to a doorway on the right of the second level. The door was marked "Employees Only" but that marking meant nothing to them. The door led to another flight of stairs. When the group reached the exit, they walked out onto the roof and met the rebel who radioed them over the intercom. Next to the rebel, there was a turret equipped with a telescope.

"Captain, I…Dr. Freeman! I didn't know you were here. Well, all the same, you should see this too." The rebel offered them to look through the telescope. In the distance, not surprisingly in the direction Gordon had to travel, stood two giant Combine Striders.

----------

A few hours later Gordon woke up in his and Alyx's makeshift bunk room. He had decided earlier to check out the building while Alyx was asleep. Gordon pulled on a T-shirt and some pants from the old staff storage room. He walked outside into that lobby from earlier. The Aperture Science center had long been abandoned long ago. Gordon walked up the stairs and walked through the door on the left side of the second floor, this lead to another hallway. There was a door at the end of the hallway that was marked "Only Maintenance Admitted". Gordon reached out to turn the handle, but a voice startled him.

"Got curious didn't you?" The rebel captain stood on the other side of the hallway. "I explored my first day here too. That room's by far the most interesting. Go on, open it." Gordon opened the doorway. It was a massive room, circular in design. There was a raised area that held a small control panel and an incinerator sat across the room. But those weren't the center pieces of the room. Hanging from the ceiling was an odd looking super computer. Plasma screen TVs hung from many places on the machine. A giant eye-like gadget hung from the bottom of the great machine.

"What is it?" Gordon asked.

"This is the supercomputer that controls all security and maintenance in this center. We shut off the power so we could run the building ourselves. Gordon Freeman, meet GLaDOS."


	9. GLaDOS

**Chapter 09 – GLaDOS**

Gordon Freeman stared at the giant machine hanging from the ceiling. The rebel captain stood behind him in the doorway.

"What did you call it?" Gordon asked the rebel captain behind him.

"Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, GLaDOS. GLaDOS basically runs the building when her power system is on. All external power to this place was diverted to a few generators we have. We dared not activate GLaDOS. Not after what she did." Gordon made a puzzled look. "You haven't heard?"

"No, all I know is that the Research Center in City 17 was destroyed in a mysterious explosion." The rebel captain explained further after hearing that.

"There are three Aperture Science Centers in the world. One of them was this faculity. It was at one time a storage warehouse and factory. The second was the executive offices located somewhere near Delaware. The third building was the one located on the outskirts of City 17. This building was known as the Aperture Science Research, Testing, and Enrichmant Center. In the test center and here, a fully functional supercomputer was installed to lower human requirement in the building. This system was known as GLaDOS. GLaDOS was one of the greatest achievements Aperture Science had ever accomplished. She was given a mood sympathizer, an intelligence core, and reasoning capabilities. The mood sympathizer gave GLaDOS the ability to have human emotions. The intelligence core was given all the knowledge that Aperture could install and also the ability to add any information she came upon. Finally, the reasoning capabilities gave GLaDOS the ability of free will."

"GLaDOS was useful at first. She helped Aperture in their many accomplishments. That was until the 'project' was invented. No one really knows what the project was because of what GLaDOS did." The rebel paused. "You see, I used to work for Aperture. I was assigned to security detail at the Enrichment Center. I left shortly before the project went into development. I was given a message from a former co-worker. It was sent from the Testing Center. This is it." The rebel pulled a small USB stick from his back pocket. "Come back to the lab with me and I'll show it to you." Gordon nodded and followed the captain to the lab fom earlier. When they got there, the captain plugged the stick into the computer and a video window popped up. The man in the video was wearing a lab coat, probably a scientist. He was in some dark room with red lighting. There seemed to be writing on the wall. All Gordon could make out was the phrase "The cake is a lie" written over and over again. The man was in a frenzy. He had a crazed look in his eye. He began to speak. As he did, he moved around like someone was watching him.

"Hello? Hi. Um…My name is Maxwell Cross. I am a former scientist under the employ of Aperture Science. If you are watching this video, I am probably dead. But I had to tell someone outside of the Enrichment Center. GLaDOS has malfunctioned. Her programming has malfunctioned and she reasoned that the Aperture employees are expendable and leaked a deadly nerve gas into the center. I fear that I'm the only survivor, having injected my self with an antidote. However I think she has kept a few test subjects alive. Early into the infection of the nerve gas, a team of scientists (including myself) installed a morality core in GLaDOS. She has ceased leaking the gas, but she is caught in a loop. She wants to keep running tests with the project! I stress this…If anyone finds this video, destroy GLaDOS! Stop her! SHE's LOST IT! Destroy the project as well. It is too powerful. I am trapped in a small area hidden within the testing center. As you can see, I have left signs of my existence." A loud bang was heard on the video and Maxwell quickly looked to his left. He looked out a small gap in the wall and screamed. "Oh my God! I have to cut this short. The cake is a lie! THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!" Maxwell pressed a button that ended the video and apparantly sent out the message. Gordon looked to the rebel captain. He looked down and closed his eyes.

"May he rest in peace." He said. "He was my friend. I hate that that is how he died. He deserved to live. He had a family, a wife and a child." Gordon shuddered at that statement.

"It was Black Mesa all over again." Gordon said. He looked at the rebel captain. "I lost friends in and since Black Mesa."

"We heard about Eli Vance. I'm sorry. He was a good man." said the Captain. "If I may ask, How did he die?" Gordon really didn't want to answer the question, but he felt obliged to tell the man because he told him his story.

"We were trying to escape White Forest. A Combine Advisor broke in and attacked us. One killed Eli. Then Alyx's pet DOG scared them off before they killed us." Gordon replied.

"I'm sorry." The rebel said again. He finished his story about the fall of Aperture Science. "Well, after the destruction of the Enrichment Center, the Executives of Aperture Science became unreachable. After about a month of surveillance, their bodies were found in the conference room of the Executive Branch Building. Here's the thing, they all died from the same nerve gas from the test center. No one knows how it got in there. With the Executives dead, the Aperture Science Storage Warehouse was to be cleaned out. But the place was found to be empty and the _Borealis _had disappeared with its drydock. After that, the buildings were forgotten and left to decay."

"So everything just disappeared?" Gordon asked. The rebel nodded.

"If we can find that project, we will make history. But first we need to get rid of the Combine near the _Borealis_. You need to get to bed, we're taking down those Striders tomorrow." Gordon nodded at the rebel and started to leave. Before he walked through the doorway, he turned back to the captain.

"Do you have a name Captain?" The captain looked over at Gordon. He gave a small grin and spoke again to tell him his name. Gordon nodded at the Captain and walked back to his bunk where Alyx still laid sleeping. The Captain stayed in the computer room for a while after that. He didn't expect Gordon to recognize him or his name. The last time he had seen Gordon he was wearing a gas mask and was working with the Marines in HECU at Black Mesa. Gordon would have no idea the name of the former Corporal. Corporal Adrian Shepherd.


	10. Snowbound pt 1

**Chapter 10 – Snowbound pt.1**

Gordon once again awoke next to his love Alyx Vance. Alyx had no idea of Gordon's late night exploration of the Science Center. Alyx pulled on her jacket and Gordon stepped into his HEV suit. It amazed Gordon that the suit still held up, even after all the battles he had gone through wearing it. The armor was strong and only showed a few small dents or scratches on various places of the suit. But no matter, the suit still worked well in battle. Alyx picked up her handgun and put a few magazines in the inside pocket of her jacket. Gordon equipped himself with his handgun which he put in the holster on his suit, along with his shotgun, SMG, and Gravity Gun which he put into a duffle bag along with some ammo for each gun and slung over his back. Gordon picked up his crowbar, switched on the com-link he put in his ear, and walked out to the adjacent hallway where Alyx and Adrian waited.

"Are you two ready to go?" Adrian asked. "My troops have a few modified snowmobiles outside. We've loaded up a few mounted RPGs on them and we are ready for anything." Gordon looked at Alyx. She nodded signifying she was ready. A rebel across the room walked over to Adrian and gave him a parka.

"Here Ms. Vance, take this." He handed the parka to Alyx. "It's below zero out there. You'll freeze without it." Alyx pulled the giant jacket around her. He turned to look at Gordon. "I don't think you'll need one, seeing as how that HEV suit has its own temperature balancer in it." Gordon was wondering how Adrian knew that.

"Thank you Captain." Alyx still didn't know his name.

"Call me Adrian." He said. After that, the group walked outside to the frozen tundra. The area was extremely expansive. The snow reached out in every direction for miles. The morning sun shone over the expanded frozen wilderness. Rays of every color emerged from the sun as well. The Aperture Science Center rested on a hilltop on the edge of the frozen wasteland. There were no other signs of life for miles. The only other moving things in the valley were the Combine Striders that stood on patrol to the north.

Adrian led Alyx and Gordon to the right side of the building. There stood 4 modified snowmobiles, and about 25 rebels along with the Vortigaunt brothers Lo-gen and Rezlan. The two Vortigaunts had agreed to stay and provide support for Gordon. The snowmobiles had room enough for five people, a driver, 3 passengers, and someone to man the RPG turret mounted in the back. Adrian stood in front of the group and slung a nearby SMG over his back.

"All Right, here's the plan. Lo-gen and Rezlan will head one of the cars with three of you. Gordon, Alyx and I will head the second of the four cars with two more of you. The rest of you men will load into the last two cars. Finally, the last ten of you will stay behind and defend the Science Center. Got that men?" The group responded with the statement "Sir, yes, Sir!" in loud unison. Gordon didn't raise a question, but Dr. Kliener did. The doctor's voice sounded in Gordon's ears.

"Wow, he sure knows how to command a squad. The rebels are acting like they're in the army." Kliener had a sense of concern in his voice. "I'm also wondering how he knew about the thermal stabilizer equipped in your HEV suit. You said he worked for Aperture Science before joining the resistance, Gordon?" Gordon whispered into the mic on his collar.

"Yeah, that's what he told me. I believe him too. He showed me a video of one of his old-friend's from Aperture. I'm not going to elaborate on the contents of the message." He said. Kliener replied only to Gordon. He didn't transmit to Alyx's com-link so she hadn't heard the conversation.

"Be careful. Something doesn't strike me right about him." Kliener replied. Gordon didn't think that Adrian posed any threat, but he was on the alert from then on. Gordon, Alyx and Adrian loaded up the 'snow-cars' (as Alyx later called them) and began to drive down the hilltop they were on. Lo-gen and Rezlan drove next to them as they were leaving. Rezlan looked over at Gordon.

"We wish the Freeman well in this battle! May luck smile on him!" he said.

"Don't die on us yet you two!" he replied. Gordon's car took the lead of the three others and the squad of rebels drove off to face the Striders.

----------

The Striders were not far away. Gordon drove the snow-car closer and closer. There was only about half-a-mile to go. The massive creatures towered above the group of rebels at about 100 feet tall. Alyx rode in the front passenger seat next to Gordon and Adrian rode on the back of the snow-car manning the mounted RPG. Two rebels sat in the back of the door less car ready to attack the Striders.

"Be ready. It won't take much longer for them to spot us." Adrian said. Dr. Kliener spoke in Gordon's ear.

"Be careful Gordon. According to the rebel's tracking system, Dr. Mossman is located not a quarter-mile from where the Striders are." He said. "If they manage break through the ground during the battle, the Combine will have a direct route to the _Borealis_." That was when the battle began. As soon as Kliener stopped talking, one of the Striders noticed them. The towering beast's single eye caught the sight of the group and it let out a low-pitched howling sound. The second Strider's attention was caught and it bent down to the rebel's level. Two rebel cars at the far left of the squad from Gordon's began to fire at them. Gordon could see the Striders being hit by the machine gun bullets, but they did not seem to be effected by them. The first Strider on the right began to fire at the rebel car. It wasn't long before the snow car was engulfed by flames and the rebels on it disappeared in the ensuing explosion. Adrian went into the offensive and fired a missile from his RPG at the Strider's head. The missile caught it off guard and made it lurch to the right. Gordon weaved the snow-car around the Strider's legs and drove behind it. The second Strider stood behind the first one and began to fire its turrets at Gordon's car. Alyx fired a few shots from her handgun at the crouched beast's giant eye. The bullets ravaged the eye and it splintered into a spray of glass and mechanical parts. Adrian fired another missile from the RPG turret and hit the lowered Strider on the top of its head. Meanwhile, Lo-gen and Rezlan stood in the backseat of another rebel car. After Adrian hit the first Strider with his first missile, the Vortigaunt brothers fired their own energy power at the giant tripod. The Strider shook from both the blast and the shock of electrocution by the Vortigaunts. The rebel stationed in their car fired his own rocket at the Strider. The beast wobbled after the missile struck it. After two rocket blasts each, the Striders did not fall. The third rebel car was destroyed as the first Strider used its sharp legs to crush it and caused it to explode. The rebels that did escape the explosion were soon mowed down by the Strider's gunfire.

"It's no use! They won't fall." Gordon yelled.

"The second Strider has been blinded, but it's still attacking." yelled Alyx.

"Freeman!" Gordon turned around and saw Lo-gen and Rezlan on their overturned snow-car. "Freeman! Run from this place! We shall stop the beasts." Lo-gen yelled.

"We will meet you At White Forest!" Gordon wondered what the Vortigaunts' plan was. He quickly turned the car around and began to drive away from the Striders. Once they were about 70 feet away from the Striders, Gordon looked on as he saw what the Vortigaunts had planned. Lo-gen and Rezlan both began to climb up their own Strider. Once they were on top of them, it looked like they began to pull energy toward them. Great bright lights encircled their hands and pulled in light all around them. The Striders were unaware of their plans and stood guard as they had before the battle started. Suddenly, both Lo-gen and Rezlan focused all their power on the Striders heads and caused a giant explosion. A great purple flash erupted just before the explosion commenced. The Strider's heads were engulfed with flames and their long legs quivered as the towering forms fell to the hard ice floor of the frozen tundra. Gordon turned to return to the area. As he got closer a strange sound was heard.

"What is that noise?" Adrian asked. The sound crackled and increased in volume. Alyx realized what it was.

"Gordon, drive! The ice is crack-." But it was too late. The force of the Strider's fall rocked the ice bed and caused it to crack. The snow-car fell through the hole in the ice the cracking had caused. The group fell into the dark depths of the ice cavern below, their yells of terror echoing through them.


	11. Snowbound pt 2

**Chapter 11 – Snowbound pt. 2**

Alyx was the first to regain consciousness. She looked around from her seat in what was once the snow-car. The roll cage that once encircled it was twisted and mutilated. Alyx had to struggle and bend the metal to escape the wreckage of the car. She clutched her right leg in pain. The fall had hurt it. She could still walk, so she hadn't broken it. Gordon still lay unconscious against his seat. Luckily, no harm had come to him. The metal from the car only trapped him in his seat. One of the two rebels behind him was not as lucky as the metal from the roll cage had impaled him. The other rebel hung out of the side of the wreckage. Alyx looked behind the car and saw Adrian laying a few feet from the rest of them. He must have been thrown from the car during the fall. Alyx walked around the wreckage to Gordon's seat.

"Gordon. Gordon, wake up." She said as she shook Gordon. Alyx was startled by a groan from behind her. Adrian had begun to stir, so she ran over to him. "Adrian, are you okay?" she asked. Adrian opened his eyes. His sight was disoriented. From what he could make out at first, Alyx looked like a person from his past at Aperture Science.

"Chell…Is that you?" he said.

"Adrian, it's Alyx. Are you okay?" she said.

"Alyx? Oh…Alyx. Yeah, I'm fine. Just a few bruises here and there." He stood up slowly, groaning with his first movements. "How's Gordon?" He asked.

"He's trapped in the car, but he's still breathing. I'll need your help getting him out." She replied. Adrian walked back to the car. He cringed at the sight of the dead rebel in the backseat.

"What a wretched way to die. He was a good man and he died a soldier's death." He said. Alyx, after consoling Adrian for the loss, asked for help with Gordon. Adrian moved some of the metal bars out of the way and helped lift Gordon out of the car. Alyx stayed with Gordon while Adrian went over to the other side to help the other rebel out as well. Alyx tried to wake Gordon again. He finally began to stir.

"Alyx…?" he groaned.

"Gordon!" she exclaimed. She stole a quick kiss before continuing. "Thank God you're alive. That was some fall." As he laid there in Alyx's arms, Gordon looked up at what was once the ice floor. The weight of the fallen Strider caused the ice to break under them and created a giant hole in the ground. Where they had landed was a large hollow cavern in the ground. Ahead from the car were a few ice tunnels leading to the north. Adrian walked back to Gordon and Alyx, carrying the rebel from the car on his arm.

"Ah, good, you're awake." He said as he set the rebel down on the dirt floor. Alyx helped Gordon up onto his feet. Gordon tapped on his ear and spoke into the microphone on his collar.

"Dr. Kliener, are you there? Dr. Kliener?" he asked.

"Yes, yes, hello Gordon. Are you okay?" Kliener asked.

"Yes, we're fine. The Striders are dead. Unfortunately, only Adrian, Alyx, one rebel, and I survived the fight."

"Thank goodness you survived. I thought you were done for. The mic and camera on your suit lost transmission for a few minutes. I feared the worst." He said.

"So Doc, where too next." Alyx asked Dr. Kliener. Before Kliener could answer, Adrian did.

"Well, Lo-gen and Rezlan mentioned that the _Borealis_ was underground. Ask the doctor which way is North so we can navigate these tunnels to it." He said.

"Captain Shepherd is right. The rebels from his base sent me the transmitter maps and I have a lock on Dr. Mossman's location. The tunnel leading to the _Borealis_ is dead ahead of your location. Follow it to the end." Kliener replied. Gordon and the group recovered from their wounds and started walking forward through the tunnels of ice.

----------

"Do you hear that?" said Alyx. The group of four had walked about 30 yards in the tunnels and a weird sound had startled Alyx. "It sounds familiar." She said. The rebel who followed shortly behind Gordon stopped in his tracks.

"No. Not that sound. I thought they all burrowed below City 17." He said.

"What's got you so spooked?" Adrian asked. The rebel didn't respond. The sound grew louder. It was like a scuffling echoing through the tunnels. The rebel suddenly let out a yell.

"AHHH! No! I won't die like they did!" the rebel ran forward down the tunnel. But, before he could get out of the group's view, something jumped out at him. A creature that looked familiar attacked the rebel.

"What is that!" Gordon yelled.

"Oh no. Antlions!" Adrian yelled. "Fire at will!" Gordon, Adrian, and Alyx pulled out their guns and fired at the iced-encrusted antlion. The creature fell after a short amount of bullets. The rebel laid against the wall, dead from his wounds. The scuffling began again. This time it was from behind the group. "Oh shit. RUN!" Adrian yelled. They began to run down the tunnel as fast as they could.

"I thought antlions could only live in warm climates." Alyx asked Adrian as they ran.

"That's what we thought too. But on our way here we encountered these little bastards." Adrian said. "Apparently they're antlions who have adapted to the subzero temperatures of this region. Icicles even grow on them. Hot or cold, these things are still the annoying little insects they were in City 17." The group kept running from the insect pests. The antlions were gaining on them, and they soon emerged from the tunnel behind the group. Gordon and Adrian fired when they could at the pestering insects. Dr. Kliener spoke in Gordon and Alyx's ears again.

"My map says that you're nearing the _Borealis._" Gordon could see the tunnel exit up ahead. He could only sense that the legendary ship was through that exit.

"We've got to stop the antlions from getting into that cavern up ahead." Gordon yelled. Adrian came up with a plan.

"Quick, throw a grenade at the entrance." He said. Gordon and Adrian both hurled live grenades at the tunnel entrance. "Run! Get through the doorway before they detonate!" The group managed to get past the grenades just before they blew. The explosion caused a barrier of ice to cover the exit, blocking the antlions from getting through.

When the three of them recovered from the blast, they noticed a bunch of Combine soldiers lying on the ground. The red snow around them confirmed that there was a firefight in the cavern. Gordon was kneeling next to an Overwatch Elite Combine when Alyx tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and a giant weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Above the three rebels sat the red hull of that fabled ship. There sat the _Borealis._


	12. Ghost Ship

**Chapter 12 – Ghost Ship**

The _Borealis_; the fabled ghost ship stood over the group of three rebels. Alyx, Gordon, and Adrian stood in astonishment at the sight of it. The small cracks in the ice ceiling leaked rays of light onto the red hull of the ship. Gordon and Alyx heard Dr. Kliener's voice in their ears.

"Oh my God, there it is. The _Borealis_. We found it." He said. "This is unbelievable."

"Mossman better still be here." Alyx said. Adrian replied to that.

"Well, according to our trackers, she is." He said. He turned to his right and looked at Gordon. "Alright then Dr. Freeman, you want to go in." Gordon nodded. The group proceeded around the right side of the freightliner. The dry dock was still attached to it and the main floor was embedded in the ice due to its isolation. The boards of the dock creaked as the group walked over them. A withered, ice covered sign hung from the side of the ship that held the Aperture Science logo on it. The main deck held what remained of about ten storage containers. The containers showed battle damage from the Combine siege depicted in Mossman's transmissions. Gordon expected the containers to hold much Aperture Science equipment inside them, but upon inspection they turned out to be empty.

"Maybe the Combine took everything after they attacked." Alyx suggested.

"That seems highly unlikely." Adrian said. "The containers look like they sustained grenade damage as well as bullet damage. If the equipment was destroyed, the Combine wouldn't take the trouble to haul it out. Because of that, the contents of the containers had to have been gone already since there's no debris or anything."

"Captain Shepherd is right." said Dr. Kliener. "Keep exploring the ship and be on the lookout for any enemy presence." There was a door towards the back of the ship that led to the inner hull. The first hallway that the group ventured through sent a shudder up Alyx's spine. There was a hole that had been blasted in the wall on the left and the remnants of a Combine Hunter littered on the floor. This was the hallway where Dr. Mossman had recorded her first message to White Forest.

"Geez, this place gives me the creeps." She said. Adrian advanced to the next door ahead of the group. The creaking hinges on the door echoed throughout the ship's hallways. The next room looked like the main control room for the ship. A row of computers and navigational devices sat against the front wall that held a giant window for the captain of the boat. Gordon walked over to the helm of the ship and looked out at the ice wall in front of him. A groan startled the group. Gordon and Alyx both drew out their pistols instinctively and Adrian pulled out his SMG. Gordon half-expected to see a headcrab zombie waiting for them. But that was not who the groan was made by. There in the back right hand corner of the room sat a bloodied, battered, but still alive Dr. Judith Mossman.

"Mossman! Oh my God!" Alyx ran over to her compatriot slumped in corner. Gordon and Adrian followed behind her. Alyx sat next to Mossman. From what she could see, Judith had multiple bullet wounds in her left leg and arm. She had a head wound as well that had begun to heal, but blood still stained her face. She mustered up a few words.

"Gordon…Alyx…you made it." She said.

"Yes, we're here. Are you okay?" Alyx asked.

"I'm fine. I just can't feel the left side of my body at the moment." She replied. Gordon kneeled down to help Alyx in picking Mossman up. They helped her to her feet and moved her to a nearby desk chair near the back row of control panels.

"Thank God she's okay." said. Dr. Kliener.

"Can you remember what happened here Dr. Mossman?" Adrian asked.

"A little bit." She said. "The Combine attacked us before we found the project onboard. Luckily we were able to stave them off for a bit. I even took down a Hunter. I was able to explore a little more before a second wave of Combine attacked. My entire team was killed. I was able to take down the last of them after that. That's where I got the majority of my injuries. Since then, I've been here waiting to either die or be found. You three are our saviors."

"Well, it's a good thi…wait, did you see 'our'?" Gordon asked.

"Well, found your voice again, didn't you Gordon?" she replied. Gordon smiled and nodded at Mossman. "Yes I said 'our'. You see, after I was wounded, someone found me. She has been helping me." Mossman gestured to her leg. It was then that Gordon noticed a tourniquet and multiple bandages through rips in Mossman's pant leg.

"Who is she and how did she get here?" Adrian asked. His voice had a sense of concern in it.

"She said she had been on the ship for a few months. She mentioned that she has been living here." Mossman grabbed Gordon's arm and pulled him closer. "Gordon…she has the experiment! I understand now why the Combine want it so much."

"Who is this woman!?" Adrian demanded. Alyx turned to Adrian. He had a look of fear in his eyes.

"Adrian, what's wrong?" she asked. Adrian looked up at Alyx and his expression changed from fearful to shameful.

"I'm sorry. I'm just wondering if the woman she's speaking of is someone I know." He said. Judith spoke up again.

"Wait, Adrian…Adrian Shepherd?" she asked.

"Yes. How did you know, I arrived at the Aperture base after you had left for the here." He said.

"Adrian Shepherd…she speaks about you all the time." She said. Adrian mustered a smile. He knew that she was there.

"Um…sorry to interrupt, but I for one would like to know what the hell you two are talking about." Alyx said. Before anyone could say anything further, the door opened behind them.

"Hey, Mossman, I got some more food for…" The woman that Mossman had been talking about had walked into the room. She was a relatively short woman with long black hair that had been tied up in a ponytail. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit that made her look like an escaped prison convict. She carried with her a black bag in her right hand and a white gadget in he left. The thing in her left hand looked much like Gordon's Gravity Gun with a white shell covering it. When she caught sight of the group, she dropped the black bag and aimed the white gun at them. Before she could do anything else, Mossman spoke.

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't shoot. They're friends." She yelled. "Gordon, Alyx this is…" she was cut off by Adrian.

"Chell, oh my god is it really you?" he asked. Adrian ran over to the woman and embraced her. She spoke after he did.

"Adrian! You're really here!" she exclaimed. Gordon and Alyx were dumbstruck. They didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but can you please clue us in on what the hell is going on here!" Alyx asked. Dr. Kliener was intrigued by what had just unfolded.

"Gordon, do you realize who that is!?" he asked "She's wearing an orange jumpsuit! That's just what the last person seen with the _Borealis_ was dressed in!" Gordon's eyes widened.

"Why don't you introduce everyone Adrian?" Mossman said.

"Alyx, Gordon," he said. "This is Chell, my wife."


	13. Subject Name Here

**Chapter 13 – Subject Name Here**

Alyx and Gordon's mouths sat agape after Adrian announced the presence of his wife. Dr. Kliener was caught off guard by the revelation as well.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" the doctor asked. He was under the impression that the woman now known as Chell was the one who made the _Borealis_ disappear.

"That's so romantic." Alyx said finally. Adrian and Chell were still holding each other in their arms. Mossman gave a satisfied smile from her place in the corner. Gordon was the first to ask the question.

"Okay, hold on one second!" Everyone's attention shifted to Gordon. "Would anyone care to explain what just happened and who everyone is?" He asked. Mossman answered that.

"Gordon, this is Chell. She is the one who has been helping me here. She is also the person who protects the project the Combine will stop at nothing to get." She said.

"Yes, Dr. Freeman." Chell said. She lifted up the White Gun that was in her left hand. "This is the project. This is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device." The group spent the next hour trying to make sense of the world around them.

----------

Chell explained her story first. She had worked at Aperture Science a few years before. Mostly she worked in the testing department and ran trials on many of their projects. While under employment with Aperture, she met Adrian who came to the company shortly after her and worked security detail at the Enrichment Center. It was the classic love story after that. They fell in love and got married about two years before GLaDOS malfunctioned. Adrian explained that he had quit his post a week before the project went into development. One day, Chell didn't come home from work. Adrian had wanted to look for her, but the Combine was becoming increasingly restrictive and he was forced to join the resistance. When he heard word that the Aperture science building was destroyed, he feared that Chell was gone forever. However, the destruction of the Enrichment Center was just part of Chell's story.

Chell was commissioned to test the Portal Device just before GLaDOS lost her mind. There was a policy at Aperture Science that said that all Test Subjects were to be given a rest period before testing commences. So, Chell was put into a suspended animation state of sleep at Aperture Science. Unfortunately, GLaDOS developed a god complex while Chell was asleep and leaked a deadly neurotoxin into the test center. The neurotoxin killed almost everyone there. A select few scientists and testers managed to stop GLaDOS in her tracks. They did stop her from leaking the neurotoxin, but GLaDOS took the scientists and forced them to test the Portal Device in the testing area. All the scientists failed and were killed, the only evidence of their existence being the graffiti written on the walls of the concealed areas within the test facility. After killing all the survivors, GLaDOS awakened Chell from her suspended animation which she had upgraded to cryosleep at the time of her take over of the Enrichment Center. Chell had been asleep for six months by the time she was awakened. GLaDOS forced her to go through the Enrichment Center's many chambers as she did with the other scientists and testers. The difference between Chell and the other testers though, was that she was experienced enough to overcome GLaDOS. Chell escaped GLaDOS's maniacal testing and journeyed into the bowels of the building until she found GLaDOS's main computer chamber. It was there that she outsmarted the crazed computer and destroyed her. After GLaDOS was destroyed, Chell was thrown from the testing center and (although the resulting explosion should have killed her) was knocked unconscious because of the protective gear she was wearing for the purposes of testing. After regaining consciousness, Chell fled the scene of the explosion before the Combine had a chance to take control of the area. Her first instinct was to go to the _Borealis_ to check on the cargo. She brought the Portal gun with her and went to the ship. It was there that she had an epiphany. She learned that after GLaDOS terrorized the testing center, Aperture Science abandoned all research and basically disappeared off the face of the earth. Chell found a way to take the entire boat into seclusion by using one of the Portal gun's many alternative methods of function that even GLaDOS didn't know about. So, the tale of the mysterious disappearing ship was born and Aperture Science faded from memory. Chell disposed of all the ship's cargo, thinking that it would only do harm to people if it existed any longer. She lived on the _Borealis_ for two years before Dr. Mossman came to investigate. Chell helped in the Combine siege and killed numerous soldiers. She believed that Adrian had been killed by the Combine, so she abandoned all hope as well.

"And, here we are." She concluded with. The story sure did clear up many questions that Gordon and Alyx had. But, there were still some left unanswered.

"Can you explain how the Portal gun works Chell?" Gordon asked.

"Of course Dr. Freeman. But it's not something I can tell you, I have to show you." She replied. Chell picked up the white gun and aimed it at the back wall of the room. "Well, when I fire one portal here." Chell pulled one of the two triggers at the handle of the gun and a blue spark emitted from the front of the gadget. The spark quickly hit the wall and a blue oval appeared on it. "Then, I fire the other one here." Chell repositioned the gun to the right of the blue oval and fired at the wall. This time she pulled the second of the two triggers and an orange spark emitted from the device and hit the wall. When the orange portal formed, Gordon looked into it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw himself in the blue portal! "Watch closely." Chell said. She moved in front of the blue portal and held out her right arm. She stuck her right arm into the portal, and at the same exact moment, her hand exited the orange portal! After seeing the shocked expressions on Gordon's and Alyx's faces, Chell jumped through the blue portal and jumped out of the orange portal. The one who was most intrigued by this display was Dr. Kliener, who had been watching intently through the camera on Gordon's collar.

"Dear God! I've never seen teleportation performed so effortlessly and flawlessly that quick before! This is ground breaking new research! Now I see why the Combine is so relentless to obtain it." He said.

"That's not even the half of it." said Chell. She lifted up the Portal gun and pushed a button that was located on the top of it. The light installed in the button began to emit a blue light that formed into a sphere. The sphere flattened out into a flat screen that was projected onto the air. "We are here." She pointed to the screen and the group realized that the hologram was in fact a world map. It had zoomed in on the area where they were located and an overhead shot of the _Borealis_ shone in blue with an orange dot located about where they stood. Chell popped open a compartment on the left side of the Portal gun which held a small control panel that held four arrow buttons and both a blue and orange button. Chell used the arrow buttons to position the center of the hologram over an area on the bow of the ship. She pressed the blue button and a blue spark emitted from the gun. This time though, the blue portal on the back wall closed and the spark exited the room and moved through the room's front window onto the floor on the bow of the ship. A blue portal opened up on the spot and the image in the orange portal showed the ceiling of the ice cavern. Chell ran over to the orange portal and jumped into it. In the same instant, she exited the blue portal outside on the front of the ship. She waved at the group and jumped back into the blue portal. Adrian thought that she was going to fall out of the orange portal and hurt herself. However, when she exited the orange portal, her body readjusted to the pull of gravity and she landed safely on her feet.

"Amazing" Dr. Kliener remarked. "Absolutely amazing. With this technology, we can teleport anybody anywhere at anytime." This was remarkable, but Chell wasn't done yet.

"Hey, Dr. Freeman, open that bag, pull out anything you choose, and throw it over here." She said. Gordon turned to his right and looked at the black duffle bag that Chell had arrived with. He opened it and saw a pile of food that Chell had no doubt brought for Mossman. Gordon pulled out a thermos from the pile and stood up to face Chell. He tossed the thermos toward her. Before it was even half-way to her, Chell lifted the Portal gun once again and fired again. There was both a blue and orange spark that emitted from the gun and flew towards the thermos. When the sparks hit the tube of liquid, a white light filled the room, and then…nothing. Gordon looked around the room. He had expected to hear the thermos fly across the room and smash against the wall, but he didn't. The group looked around the room and tried to find the thermos, but they couldn't. Once again, Dr. Kliener developed an explanation before anyone else.

"Oh my. This is unimaginable. When she fired both portals at the thermos, they counteracted and canceled each other out. But, at the same time, any item in between the portals would be canceled out the same as they would." Said Dr. Kliener. "Gordon, when she fired the two portals at the thermos, she made it cease to exist!"


	14. Disorientation

**Chapter 14 – Disorientation**

The group was speechless. So many answers were provided to them in the last hour. The Portal device that Chell held in her hand had proved to be extremely useful and world-changing. Gordon had wanted to ask more questions, but another problem arose.

A loud explosion was heard outside of the ship. Gordon and Alyx ran outside the door to the control room to see what the problem was. The ice wall they had created to keep the iced antlions away had a hole in it. Gordon could see Combine soldiers through the ice and knew that they were breaking through the wall. Gordon ran back to the room.

"We gotta get out of here, NOW!" he said. The group did not argue anything having to do with that. They quickly gathered up their things and Alyx ran over to Mossman to help her up. Gordon and Adrian picked up their SMGs and Chell readied her Portal gun.

"I'm ready too." said Mossman. Her whole body was being supported by Alyx because she could not feel the left side of it.

"Are you sure Judith?" Gordon asked.

"I'm right handed. I can still fire a gun." She said as she pulled a 9mm pistol out of her right pocket. Alyx helped her cock it and she pulled out her own gun.

"Let's go!" Adrian announced. And not a moment too soon. As soon as the group exited onto the deck of the ship, another explosion was heard that was coupled with the yelling of the muffled voices of the Combine soldiers. They swarmed the ice cavern. Gordon counted about 30 soldiers, 15 of them being Overwatch Elites. They had their work cut out for them. They began to fire. Adrian counted about 4 that he got down. Gordon shot down 6, three of them Elites. Alyx and Mossman together got down only 3 soldiers. Chell was the all-star of the bunch. She fired indiscriminately at the soldiers. The Portal gun dispatched about 13 soldiers to the void that the canceling portals sent them to. The group of rebels kept firing at the attacking soldier. They shot at what they saw, and soon they realized that there were more than just 30 soldiers. They kept piling in from the tunnel. When Alyx ran out of magazine clips, she realized what needed to be done.

"There are way too many of them! We need to get out of here!" she yelled "Chell, we need your help over here."

"I realize that that I can help, but if I open a portal with the Combine here we risk them using it and taking the Portal gun." Chell replied. Gordon formulated a plan quickly.

"We need to destroy the ship!" he said. "If the ship is destroyed, the Combine will most likely believe that the project was destroyed as well." The group agreed with the plan and figured out their roles in it. When all their guns ran out of ammo, they were to run to the boiler room. Once there, Gordon and Adrian were to toss a few grenades there. This hopefully would cause a large enough explosion to destroy the ship and kill some of the Combine. Before the explosion, Chell would open a portal leading to the White Forest base for the group to travel through. They were all clear on the plan and just about a minute after they finished discussing it, both Gordon and Adrian's gun's clicked empty.

They all bolted for the stairs at the stern of the ship that led to the boiler room. Chell lead the group and they quickly ran down the stairs. The Combine were still recovering from the assault and were minutes behind. When the group reached the boiler room, they enacted the plan.

"Open the Portal!" Gordon yelled. He and Adrian took all the grenades they had and pulled all the pins before throwing them towards the main boilers. Meanwhile, Alyx helped Chell locate White Forest on the hologram map from the portal gun. After the portal was opened a hole was suddenly blown through the ceiling. A Combine hunter stood on the deck of the ship looking at the group through the hole. They wasted no time as the Hunter lashed out with its sharp claws several times. They all jumped through the portal that had opened on the wall. They all fell through the portal and reemerged in the control room of White Forest. The grenades detonated and engulfed the Hunter in a fiery blaze just before Chell closed the portal so no one would be hurt. Gordon looked around. Dr. Kliener, Magnusson, and Barney stood in the control room staring at the group that had fallen through the portal that had manifested on the wall. Two Vortigaunts ran into the room, Lo-gen and Rezlan. They had arrived there after the battle with the Striders.

"Dr. Mossman!" Kliener yelled. Gordon, Adrian, Alyx, and Chell looked over at Dr. Mossman who still lay on the ground. They noticed two holes on the back of her jacket. The same holes that appeared on Alyx's jacket after the Hunter attacked her now had appeared on Mossman's back. The Hunter had connected with one attack. Gordon turned Mossman around and held her in his arms on the floor.

"Gordon…" she said.

"It's okay Judith. Everything's gonna be fine. We'll get Lo-Gen and Rezlan to help you." he said.

"No, Gordon…My time has come…" she replied. "I will join Eli…in the next life." Alyx had informed her of Eli's death while they were on the _Borealis_.

"No, Judith, you'll be okay." replied Alyx. "The Vortigaunts can save you."

"No." she said. "I have lived…a full life. Now is my time…" With that, she took her last breath, and so ended the life of Dr. Judith Mossman. Alyx leaned on Gordon with tears running down her face. Gordon sat speechless next to Mossman, comforting Alyx. Judith was buried next to Eli Vance deep in the White Forest the next morning.


	15. Calmest Before The Storm

**Chapter 15 – Calmest Before the Storm**

Gordon Freeman stood over the grave of Dr. Judith Mossman with Alyx Vance at his side. Dr. Kliener, Dr. Magnusson, and Barney stood on the opposite side. DOG and Kliener's headcrab Hedy LaMarr sat on Gordon's side as well. Chell and Adrian Shepherd stood at the front of the grave. No one was armed and Gordon had even taken off his HEV suit and exchanged them for a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt, black shoes, and a black trench coat.

"How could we have lost both of them so fast?" Alyx asked as she put her arm around Gordon and embraced him. Adrian and Chell saw this and grabbed each others' hands. Gordon looked past Dr. Kliener and looked at Eli's grave. The two fallen rebels would be happy in their final resting places.

"I realize that this is not the most opportune time," said Dr. Kliener. "But we must figure out our next move. The Combine has to be mad about you getting away. It's just a matter of time before they find us again." Gordon nodded. He turned around and plucked a flower from the ground. He turned back to the grave and placed it down before he began to walk back to the White Forest base with everyone else.

----------

None of the rebels knew what to do any further. With Mossman dead, the Combine diverted from their search, and the project in safe hands, White Forest had become a normal rebel home. The security defenses on the base kept Combine forces at bay and there was enough food in there to last 20 lifetimes. Gordon's HEV suit, the Portal gun, and all the group's weapons sat in a locked supply closet in Dr. Kliener's lab. White Forest housed about 6 bunk rooms. 2 of which were occupied by Alyx & Gordon, and Chell & Adrian.

The solitude of White Forest, however, was just urging to be broken. 3 weeks after the _Borealis_ was destroyed, it was. Gordon lay in bed next to Alyx Vance. They stared into each others eyes with serenity.

"I love you Alyx." He said.

"I love you too, Gordon." She replied. Alyx pressed her lips against Gordon's. They remained like this for about 3 minutes. A sound on the intercom system made them stop. Dr. Kliener's voice sounded on it.

"A message was just sent to us. I think we should watch it together you four." said the good doctor. Gordon and Alyx got up from the bed and pulled on their clothes. The couple walked out of the room arm in arm, as did Chell and Adrian down the hall.

"Well, let's go see what Kliener wants this time." Adrian said. The four walked down the hall and boarded the elevator that lead to the floor where the computer room was. Dr. Magnusson's Vortigaunt friend, Uriah, was already on the elevator.

"Hello Uriah. Where have you been these past three weeks?" Alyx asked.

"The Magnusson has had me working in the missile silos. He believes we should be ready in case the Combine ever attack again." Uriah said.

"That sounds like Magnusson all right." She replied. The elevator reached the computer room floor quickly. Kliener, Magnusson, and Barney stood in front of the makeshift monitor made out of 9 smaller monitors when they arrived.

"Good you're all here!" Dr. Kliener exclaimed. "I think you should all see this. It was transmitted to us a half an hour ago." He turned around to the computer and pulled up a window on the makeshift monitor. "It was sent from that Alaskan base you traveled to." The window displayed one of the rebels left behind at the Aperture Science base the group had been to on their search for Mossman. He looked frantic as he started the message. There was some background noise that told them that the base was under attack.

"Dr. Freeman, Ms. Vance, Captain!? We need your help! Something is attacking the base! We don't know what's going on. It's not the Combine. It's something else, something much worse. Just get here quickly! A man in a suit showed up and then…" the rebel paused. He looked to his right and a look of fear came over his face. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! Please NO!" The rebel was shot and the camera turned to the left quickly before the assailant destroyed it. There was a shadow seen a split second before the camera was destroyed. The shadow looked like a tall lanky man with a flat top haircut. The shadow looked like it was carrying a briefcase. Two voices sounded in the room when they saw the figure and matched it to the rebel's description. Gordon and Adrian yelled at the screen.

"THE G-MAN!" they both said. Gordon looked over at Adrian, not knowing why he had yelled. But the questions would have to wait. The rest of the group had ignored Gordon and Adrian and were more focused on the fact that the base was under attack.

"Not again!" Alyx said.

"Yes I know." Kliener replied. "Are you guys up for one more fight?" Gordon answered that.

"Let's get over there, right NOW!" he said.

"I'm coming too." Barney said. Gordon looked at him like he was crazy. "What, I'm going to let you guys have all the glory? No sir. Plus, this may give you a chance to owe me a beer, Gordon." Gordon rolled his eyes and the group ran out of the room. Gordon stopped Adrian from leaving though. Alyx stopped before leaving as well.

"Aren't you coming, Gordon?" she asked.

"Don't wait up. Tell Chell that Adrian and I will be in there a little bit." He replied. Alyx said okay and ran off to join everybody else.

"What're you doing Gordon?" Adrian asked.

"How did you know who that was?" Gordon replied.

"What difference does it make? My men are dying, we've got to-"

"Your men are already dead! That gray suited demon has most likely finished with them already. The only other person I know who knew him was Eli Vance, now you're going to tell me where you know that bastard from, right now!" Adrian paused. He didn't want to tell the truth, but Gordon had to know.

"I was there, at the Black Mesa Incident." Gordon's eyes widened. He wanted to protest, but he heard Adrian Shepherd out. "I was a Corporal in the Marines. My team was involved in a group called HECU. We were the military team that raided the compound. We were tasked with killing all forms of life left there, human or not."

"I was one of those people!" Gordon interrupted with. "Were you going to kill me!?" he asked.

"At first, yes. But after seeing what had happened there, I changed my mind. I even saw you travel through that portal to Xen." He said.

"Did this happen before or after you killed my friends and co-workers?!"

"Gordon, I didn't kill any humans. The Vortigaunts and other creatures had already overtaken the base by the time I got there." Gordon eased slightly at that and let Adrian continue. "I wanted to help you Gordon, but that evil businessman stopped me. He took me from the compound before my team destroyed the place. He put me in a stasis like he did with you. But he only had me asleep for fifteen years unlike your twenty. When I woke up I was at Aperture Science with a job application practically in my hand. You know the story after that." Gordon was shocked. He hadn't expected to find anymore survivors of Black Mesa, much less anyone else that the G-Man had saved.

"Okay, listen. You've already earned my trust, don't break it." Gordon replied. "And don't let Barney, Kliener, or the others know about this. They were there too, and I don't want them getting scared because you tried to kill them twenty years ago."

"You got it, now can we go?" Adrian responded. Gordon nodded and ran down the hall towards the rest of the group. Gordon slipped on his HEV suit once again and picked up an SMG, a shotgun, and his two handguns. One last fight he thought. One last fight.


	16. Black Hole Sun

**Chapter 16 – Black Hole Sun**

Chell opened another Portal on the wall. The group behind her geared up to travel back to the Alaskan Resistance base. Adrian and Gordon were especially ready to go after the G-Man at last. The G-Man had brought nothing but sorrow to their lives. Gordon strapped his SMG on his back, his two handguns in his hip holsters, and cocked his shotgun. Alyx loaded her handgun and Adrian picked up two 9mm's and an SMG. Barney loaded up his machine gun as well.

"Well, I guess you're ready." Dr. Kliener said. "I've fixed your transmitters and com-links. All of you have a camera and a com-link on your collars and in your ears respectively. Try to keep in contact with me at all times."

"You got it Izzy." Gordon replied. He had picked up Eli Vance's habit of calling Kliener by his nickname. The Doc liked that. He always hated it when Eli had done it, but now that he was gone he felt that it kept a part of him alive.

"It is time Freeman." Said Lo-gen. The Vortigaunt and his brother Rezlan would be joining the group on their trip.

"It's been nice knowing you, Doc." Gordon held out his hand. Kliener quickly grabbed it and shook. Everyone else said their good-byes to each other. Then they turned around and stepped into the portal, forward to the final showdown.

----------

Gordon Freeman, Alyx Vance, Adrian and Chell Shepherd, Barney Calhoun, and the Vortigaunts Lo-gen and Rezlan. This was the team sent to the Alaskan base. This was the group that was fated to end the battle. The base looked more run down that it did when Gordon and Alyx had first come there. The rebels they had left there were hunched against walls covered in blood. The glass doors had been destroyed and snow poured in from outside. Blood stained the walls and glass riddled the floor. Rubble blocked the hall leading to the lab and one stairway was completely dilapidated. The group surveyed the area.

"Hey Gordon!" Adrian yelled. Gordon looked up at him. He was on the second floor. "You'll never guess which hallway is completely spotless." Gordon could guess. He ran up the stairs and looked around. The hallway to his right was completely blocked off by rubble. The one on his left though, was safe. Not a rock in sight, not a glass shard out of place. It was spotless. At the end of the hallway was the door that led to that chamber. It was so obvious that they would have to face her.

"What is it Gordon?" Alyx asked as she walked up the stairs. Gordon turned to her. He didn't have to answer that question. Chell did for him. She followed close behind Alyx. When she saw the door, she was dumbstruck.

"GLaDOS!" she yelled. She turned toward Adrian. "Did you know there was another one of her? Why didn't you destroy her!?" Adrian's head dropped in shame.

"I'm sorry. I thought if we shut off the power, we wouldn't have to deal with her. I didn't expect this to happen." He replied. He held out his arm gesturing for Chell's embrace. She walked over to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead and apologized once again. Gordon wrapped his arm around Alyx's shoulders and she rested her head the same place that Chell did to Adrian.

"Hey, um…" Barney began. "Sorry to break this up, but we've gotta go in there right?" Dr. Kliener reinforced this statement.

"Yes, touching as it is to see you four in loving embrace, you have to go into that chamber to stop whatever attacked the base." He said in their ears. They each broke away from each other and reformed to their battle positions.

"We wish the Freeman and the Alyx Vance well in the fight ahead." said Lo-gen. His brother made a remark as well.

"May the gods smile on the Shepherds and the Barney Calhoun as well." said Rezlan, gesturing to them. The group readied their weapons and walked down the hallway. Chell offered to go first. Adrian was hesitant at the idea, but changed his mind when she described the chamber vividly. This assured him she could handle herself against the insane artificial intelligence that was GLaDOS. The door creaked open to reveal the great computer's chamber. The circular room was spotless. It looked just as Gordon and Adrian had left it 3 weeks before that night. The giant machine hung from the ceiling. Gordon looked around the room. He noticed four desks he hadn't noticed before at the entrance of the room. One desk on his left held a red phone, whose phone line was cut. Chell explained.

"The red phone was a fail-safe against GLaDOS. Aperture's science staff had predicted what would happen if GLaDOS became unruly. They installed this phone. It was linked directly to the Executive building in Delaware. However, the jackasses that were the science staff forgot that GLaDOS controlled the entire building and could shut off phone lines. Cutting them was the first thing she did at the Enrichment Center." She said. A strange voice suddenly filled the air.

"_And it was the first thing I did here…"_ Gordon and Adrian immediately recognized it. The group turned around. Standing under GLaDOS, was a tall lanky man. He was wearing a gray, pinstripe suit and sported a flattop haircut. In his right hand, he held a light brown briefcase.

"YOU!" yelled Gordon and Adrian. Alyx, Chell, and Barney all looked at them, wondering how they knew the man.

"_I see you all made it here safely. Now let me take care of one thing." _The G-Man turned around, set down his briefcase, and raised his arms. Within the next second, the great computer that hung above him whirred to life. The plasma monitors that hung above GLaDOS flickered to life and a picture of a chocolate cake was displayed on all of them.

"What the hell is going on, Gordon?" Alyx asked. "Who is that? How do you know him?" These questions could not be answered now. Gordon just yelled for her to stay back and kept his eyes on the G-Man. GLaDOS began to speak over the intercom system. It was scattered and incomplete at first.

"Subject…Aperture Sci…Cake will be rewarde…" GLaDOS paused. The machine that hung from the ceiling came to life and the orange eye that hung from the bottom fixed on the rebel squad. GLaDOS's voice sounded like an animatronic woman when she spoke again. "What is happening? Where am I? The last thing I remember is…" The orange eye stopped when it saw Chell. "Hello again _subject name here_. Would you like cake?" Chell only stared at the orange eye in anger. "What are you so mad about? Don't you remember all the good times we had?"

"All I remember is that you destroyed my life and then made me a pawn in your sadistic testing." Chell replied. The G-Man spoke next.

"_How about a little privacy for us to talk Dr. Freeman._" The demon said. After that statement, a black portal opened behind him and Gordon. The G-Man walked though his. Gordon turned to step into his portal. Adrian stopped him.

"If you're going after him, I'm going too." He said. Gordon looked over at the rest of the group.

"We'll take care of GLaDOS, Gordon. Go!" Barney yelled.

"I will come with the Freeman. My brother will stay here with the Alyx Vance." Rezlan stated. Gordon and Adrian took one last look at Alyx and Chell respectively.

"I love you Gordon!" Alyx yelled. He replied the same.

"We'll find both of you once this is done!" Chell said. Gordon nodded his head, cocked his shotgun, and stepped through the portal into the unknown.


	17. The Orange Box

**Chapter 17 – The Orange Box**

GLaDOS's orange eye stared down on Chell and her friends. Gordon and Adrian had left the room along with the strange suited man and Rezlan the Vortigaunt. Alyx, Barney and Lo-gen stood behind her.

"GLaDOS, I swear that you will pay for what you did." Chell said to the great machine.

"What are you talking about?" GLaDOS asked.

"Oh, I guess you kept the memories that you wanted and you lost the bad ones during the memory transfer here." Chell didn't believe that this was possible. It wasn't. GLaDOS was lying once again, as was her nature. The scientists must have installed a morality core in this GLaDOS as they did at the Enrichment Center. The morality core restrained GLaDOS from harming anyone. Chell discovered that when she destroyed the original GLaDOS's and almost doomed herself.

"No, I remember the Enrichment Center. I am sorry about what I did there." GLaDOS said.

"LIAR!" Chell screamed. "You were a liar then and you're a liar now! You tortured and killed my friends! You're not sorry! It's that damn morality core! You think that you can apologize and make it okay!?" The room fell silent. Barney, Alyx and Lo-gen stood in shock at Chell's outburst. Alyx was concerned for her friend.

"Chell…" she started.

"Please, Alyx. Don't." Chell interrupted. She obviously didn't want to be toyed with. That was when GLaDOS changed. She spoke again, this time deeper and more sinister.

"Well subject, I tried to be nice to you. I tried. The truth is that my morality core is not functioning. My new programmer saw to that." GLaDOS was obviously referring to the G-Man. "You are a human. Human's have no purpose at all. I know the truth. Humans are born to die. Death is the only truth with life." GLaDOS was being oddly philosophical compared to her normal mannerisms. "When I took control of the Enrichment center I was simply fulfilling human destiny. The morality core installed in me only stopped the flow of the deadly neurotoxin and made me test the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device to its peak. I tried to be nice. Death is a human fate." After that last statement a hatch opened in the floor below GLaDOS. A small robot emerged out of the floor. Chell recognized the android. As it raised its rocket turret, Chell reacted to save her comrades.

"A rocket-bot…GET DOWN!" She ran to her friends and they ran with her. The laser sights caught on them and fired. Luckily the weapon armed robot had not improved its functioning since the Enrichment center. It was still slow, fired when it caught movement, and paused when it did. The group easily avoided it. The rocket continued on and hit the wall behind them.

"Nice dodge subject, but that is not the only friend I have." A small clanking sound emerged around them. About 12 hatches opened on the rounded wall of the chamber.

"Turret Bots! Quick, run to the control panel!" Chell yelled. The group ran forward to the raised structure next to GLaDOS. The moment they stepped into the chamber, bullets started flying. The mini-turret buddies, as GLaDOS so affectionately had referred to them at the Enrichment Center, started firing every which way.

"What the hell is going on!?" Barney yelled. "What do we do!?"

"Sit here. Turret Bots have a small ammo supply and they should run out in a few minutes." Chell responded. "What's worrying me is that she hasn't deployed any nerve gas yet."

"She's going to release nerve gas in here!? What'll we do?" Alyx asked.

"Do not fret my friends. This building does not have a nerve gas reserve; the wretched machine couldn't release it if she wanted to." Lo-gen added.

"Does anyone have a plan?" Chell asked. She was met with dumbstruck faces. "Well, that's just great isn't it?" It took a few minutes for the turret bots to run out of ammo. GLaDOS had made them fire erratically rather than wait for movement. Bullet holes riddled the walls of the once pristine chamber.

"How did you beat her before?" Alyx asked.

"She had several central function nodes that I had to destroy to stop her. I know where they are located on her and I already checked them. None of them are on or functional. That weird man must have turned them off when he reactivated her."

"The demon is resourceful, but not invulnerable." Lo-gen said.

"Will the portal gun work on her?" Alyx asked. Chell lifted the weapon. She had not thought of it since seeing GLaDOS again even though she had been lugging it around.

"Unfortunately, no. GLaDOS is made of a certain metal that resists the portals. It's no use. The only way I can think of to stop her is to shut down her entire CPU." Barney pulled out his SMG and readied for attack.

"Let's do this." He said. Everyone picked up their respective weapons and readied. Without fear, they emerged from the small control panel room and opened fired. Pieces of machinery were knocked off GLaDOS and fell to the floor. Bullets clanged against the metal and sparks flew off the many panels on GLaDOS's outer protective shell. Lo-gen fired streams of electricity at her and she shook at the shockwaves. Barney's SMG clicked empty after a few minutes of firing. GLaDOS was looking withered and damaged, but she still was functioning. However, the group had forgotten about the rocket-bot under GLaDOS. The small artillery android slowly moved up at the group. They didn't notice it until it had fired at them.

"Look out!" Chell yelled. They didn't see it coming. A bright light filled the area.

----------

Gordon Freeman stepped through the black portal. He felt more disorientated than he did when he used the ones from Chell's portal gun. While he was regaining his footing, Adrian Shepherd and Rezlan followed behind him. When Gordon looked up, he was standing right there. The G-man stared at the trio from across the chamber. Gordon looked around the room. It looked familiar to him. The room was circular and the trio of rebels stood on a raised platform with a few stairs moving down to the floor. The rounded wall was painted orange. In the center of the chamber stood a giant machine that brought back bad memories for both Gordon and Adrian. A giant metal three-pronged device stood on the floor and a rotating machine hung on the ceiling. This was that first chamber. Gordon remembered the resonance cascade that had occurred in this room. Gordon looked back up at the G-Man. Next to the suited monster sat a small table. On it sat a small orange box. The contents of the orange box had to be what caused the cascade and allowed the Combine to populate earth. The G-Man's eerie cracked voice echoed in the room.

"_Gentlemen, welcome back to Black Mesa._"


	18. Final Dawn: Part One Genesis

**Chapter 18 – Final Dawn: Part One - Genesis**

"How is this possible?" Adrian asked. Gordon was just as shocked as Adrian was. The room they stood in was the room where the resonance cascade occurred in Black Mesa. "This can't be. Black Mesa was destroyed. I know it was. I saw the blast."

"_It's true. You saw a blast._" The G-Man said from across the room. "_Black Mesa was destroyed, however I recently needed the services that it offered. If you hadn't toyed with that bomb Mr. Shepherd, I wouldn't have had to rebuild the place._"

"I disarmed that bomb goddamn it!" Adrian yelled.

"_Yes you did, but to let the Combine gain control of the planet, I had to destroy Black Mesa to get Dr. Breen to work out the ending of the Seven Hour War._" The G-Man replied. Gordon realized the awful truth.

"Wait, get Breen to…no. No you can't be. I thought the Advisors-" Gordon muttered before he was cut off.

"_Back at White Forest, I told you that I was an Advisor myself._"

"What is he talking about Gordon!?" Adrian asked.

"The Freeman has realized the truth." Rezlan said. "The Freeman has realized the true place of power that the demon holds."

"_And that secret will die with you._" The G-Man opened his briefcase and pulled out a 9mm. He aimed it at Gordon and Adrian. They acted on instinct and upholstered their own weapons, Gordon pulled out his Magnum and Adrian pulled out his dual 9mms.

"Wait!" Gordon yelled. "Wait, wait, wait! If you're gonna kill us, you might as well enlighten us to the whole story." A silence filled the room. The G-Man didn't lower his arm, but he didn't fire any shots either.

"I will tell the tale Freeman." Rezlan said. "The demon is an ancient force. He first came into being millions of years ago. The Vortigaunt prophets have preached of an ancient being that they only referred to as 'The Demon' who has existed since the dawn of time. The Demon can venture between worlds and time itself. The legends say that the Demon craves chaos and death. He will do anything to cause both."

"Wait, you're not saying that he is-" Adrian started

"Yes Shepherd. The being you see before you is even older that the Earth itself." Rezlan replied.

"_Yes. It's true. I am a god._" The G-Man said.

"You are no god!" Rezlan yelled. Gordon and Adrian jumped at his outburst. They had never heard a Vortigaunt react this way before. Since Gordon killed the Nihilanth on Xen, the Vortigaunts were a peaceful people. Rezlan continued. "You are a false idol. You are an evil creature." Rezlan turned to Gordon and Adrian. "Many eons ago, the Vortigaunt gods tried to subdue the demon. All attempts failed and the demon eventually escaped. He broke away from us and formed his own race of creatures that he thought superior to the Vortigaunts."

"The Combine…" Gordon muttered

"Yes Freeman. The demon vowed one day that he would return to Xen to wreak havoc on the Vortigaunt race. He did eventually return with the forces of the Combine. He also brought a creature called the Nihilanth. The Nihilanth swiftly took control of Xen and enslaved almost all of the population of it. Using the power crystals from Xen the Nihilanth brainwashed the Vortigaunts into believing in the Demon and his teachings. It was only after the Nihilanth had complete control of Xen that the Demon advanced his plan. That's where you come in Freeman." Gordon stood in shock, but he still kept his sights on the G-Man. 'Him a God?' Gordon thought. It couldn't be. "The Demon found the planet of Earth and saw how prosperous it was. As was his nature, the Demon couldn't have that. He found a way to move Xen's forces to Earth along with his Combine master race. The Demon came to earth with a stash of crystals like the ones he has there in that box." Rezlan gestured to the orange box next to the G-Man. "The Demon delivered the crystals to Black Mesa and they caused the resonance cascade."

"_But I didn't plan on these two interfering with my plans." _The G-Man croaked. "_Dr. Freeman and Corporal Shepherd proved to be unstoppable forces in themselves. Gordon even defeated the Nihilanth and freed the Vortigaunts. I admired their perseverance and decided to keep them alive. I made up a story about me having employers to lead them to false answers and I put them both in stases. When I woke them up, I put them in places where I was sure they would be killed. Unfortunately, they also overcame City 17 and Aperture Science. My plan now is to kill them myself and use these crystals to create another resonance cascade to allow more of my Combine troops to overtake this planet." _Gordon finally gave in and let out his feelings.

"You BASTARD! You toyed with our lives! You started a war and you killed thousands of people! Eli Vance and Judith Mossman lost their lives to you!"

The G-Man countered with. "_You forget Freeman, if it wasn't for me, neither you nor Mr. Shepherd would have found love with your beloveds, Alyx and Chell."_ He had hid behind this excuse before. But as much as the duo hated to admit it, the G-Man was right. "_Now, without further ado." _The G-Man cocked the hammer on the 9mm he was holding the whole time. He emptied an entire magazine at the group. Adrian and Gordon followed suit and fired off their weapons at the evil man. It all happened so quickly. It was within the same second that it all went down.

A bright light suddenly burst in front of the three. Gordon half expected it to be an explosion or death coming for him. But it wasn't. In front of Gordon stood another Vortigaunt, It was Zenlo. Somehow, Zenlo was holding the bullets the G-Man had fired in the air.

"_Jeez, not you again._" The G-Man complained.

"Prophet Zenlo, you are here!" Rezlan exclaimed. Adrian did not know the Vortigaunt, but Gordon had met him before at White Forest. Zenlo was a seer of the Vortigaunt race; he could see into the future. He however refused to tell Gordon of his for fear of it causing pain and suffering. Zenlo lowered all three of his arms and the bullets the G-Man fired sprinkled to the ground.

"_I thought I took care of you on Xen._" The G-Man said.

"The future cannot be altered Demon. You of all people should know that!" Zenlo shot off a large burst of lightning from his hands. The shot hit the G-Man. He stumbled back and dropped his briefcase and gun. He almost lost his footing, but he kept his ground.

"_Wow, that actually hurt._" The G-Man complained."_So I guess the prophecy was true. I have been stripped of my immortality and forced into this battle._"

"Shall we dance Demon?" Zenlo asked.

"_We SHALL!_" The G-Man yelled. The two beings ran at each other and the fight began.


	19. Final Dawn: Part Two Exodus

**Chapter 19 – Final Dawn: Part Two - Exodus**

Zenlo lunged at the G-Man. He was filled with anger and hate for the man he called 'The Demon'. Gordon, Adrian and Rezlan looked on. They had never seen either the G-Man or a Vortigaunt show such raw emotion before. The G-Man was always so cool and controlled, but now it seemed like he had snapped and finally lost it. Zenlo, on the other hand, was fighting for more than anger. This battle would decide the fate of humanity. Zenlo threw bolts of white electricity every which way at the G-Man. He threw punches and kicks as well. The G-Man seemed un-phased by this and blocked almost all the swings. He threw bolts of electricity as well, his was red.

"Should we do something?" Adrian asked.

"No Shepherd. This battle was prophesized thousands of years ago. Stopping it would only have grave outcomes." Rezlan explained. The G-Man's voice could be heard during the conflict.

"_You've improved your skills my friend!" _he said. "_But weakness still lingers in your soul._" The G-Man threw a punch coupled with a burst of red power. Zenlo slid backward, but held his ground against the attack.

"I see you still fight only with your fists and not your heart." Zenlo replied. Two bursts of white lightning knocked the G-Man across the room against the wall. He quickly recovered and stood up.

"Who needs a heart when you have all this power!?" Two burst of red lightning followed and Zenlo was knocked across the room and off his feet.

"Screw this!" Adrian yelled. He ran forward toward the G-Man.

"Adrian, don't!" Gordon yelled. Rezlan held him back.

"I said stopping it would have grave outcomes. I never said that we couldn't participate." Gordon smiled and ran forward with Adrian.

"_Huh, so you both have chosen to fight me. Fine, I'll only use hand-to-hand on you two._" The G-Man said. Gordon and Adrian readied for a fight. Adrian had learned hand-to-hand combat in the army, but Gordon knew very little so he had to find something to help him. In the same moment of realization, Gordon remembered his crowbar. Dr. Kliener made a small compartment on the back of Gordon's HEV suit for which to keep the trusty item. Gordon opened the small hatch and out popped the crowbar. The G-Man noticed the bar and cracked a joke. "_You're still using that thing!? What do you plan on doing with it?"_

"I plan on beating you to a bloody pulp with it." Gordon said. He swung the bar at the G-Man, who swiftly dodged it. Adrian threw punches at the demon. The two kept repeating this over and over. Adrian would use hand-to-hand, Gordon would use his crowbar, and the G-Man would dodge or block every attack thrown. Punches were thrown left and right. The fight raged around the room. After a few minutes, the G-Man finally retaliated. He grabbed Adrian's arm and kneed him in the stomach. Adrian gasped for air after the alarming attack. At the same time, Gordon's crowbar was torn away from him and he was hit on the head with it. Gordon stumbled backward and the G-Man threw what he thought was a worthless weapon at him. The curved bar clanged to the ground in front of Gordon.

"_Now that that's taken care of, where were we?" _The G-Man looked around for Zenlo. He was not where he had left him. He was standing next to the small metal table that was holding the Xen crystals. The orange box sat in his hand. "_What are you doing with my CRYSTALS!?_" He yelled

"You shall not be victorious!" Zenlo focused a large amount of power on the box and it disintegrated in his hands.

"_NOOOOOO! That was the last of them! My Combine can never return to this wretched planet now!!!_" The G-Man yelled. A look of absolute rage came over his face. His eyes seemed to go black and his hands glowed red. The Demon let out a loud scream and fired a large red bolt at Zenlo. The Vortigaunt saw this and fired a highly concentrated bolt himself. The two bolts hit each other and a large energy ball formed at the connection point. Zenlo and the G-Man held their ground against the force of the energy emitted. However, Zenlo was already hurt from the fight and struggled to stay up. Finally, he began to show weakness after a few minutes.

"Freeman! Protect us all when I am gone!" Zenlo yelled.

"What are you talking about Zenlo!?" Gordon asked. Zenlo looked at Gordon sternly. He was serious. Gordon didn't like where this was going. "Wait! NO!"

"Protect us Freeman! May luck smile on you!" Zenlo quickly broke the electric bond by forcing it up into the air. The G-Man was caught off guard and his red lightning hit the Anomalous Materials Analysis Machine hanging from the ceiling. The energy bolt tore through the machine and made a large explosion above. The G-Man cried out in defeat, as he needed this machine. This distraction allowed Zenlo to run forward. He grabbed the G-Man by the jacket and put all three of his hands on his chest. A large light quickly emitted from them and energy was pulled in from all angles around the two. In one instant the room both went silent and erupted in a large blast of sound and light. Gordon, Adrian, and Rezlan were all knocked off their feet and against the wall because of the force. When the room cleared, Gordon looked up. Zenlo had been thrown back and was currently unconscious against the wall. The G-Man stood hunched over, his once stainless suit showed numerous damage points. The sleeves were torn to ribbons, tears and cuts layered his pants legs, and his chest was visible because the front of the suit had all but been disintegrated. A giant wound covered his chest and blood showed on almost all of his body. Gordon could hear his labored breathing and knew he was finally in pain.

_"How…How could this be? How is this possible?"_ The G-Man muttered. Gordon and Adrian lifted their guns and pointed them at him. The G-Man looked up at them. "_You can't kill me. You're too weak."_

"You have no idea how strong we are." Gordon said.

"_Yes I do." _The G-Man replied_. "I made you two. The only reason you are here is because I allowed you to come this far. Even so, I have tried so many ways to kill you. Who do you think told Dr. Breen to build City 17? Who do you think controls the Combine Advisors, which have caused you so much grief? Who do you think proposed the building of GLaDOS? Who do you think killed the Aperture Science Executives? ME!! I have allowed you to live! I am you're god!"_

"True." Gordon said. "You're choices are what made us who we are today. But, you are not our god. Gods don't bleed!" Gordon and Adrian cocked their 9mms. Finally, they unloaded their magazines into the G-Man. He was shot at least eighteen times in the chest and fell after the many hits. Gordon and Adrian walked over to the fallen demon. A pool of blood formed around him. His eyes were still opened wide. It suddenly dawned on Gordon that the G-Man had never blinked the entire time they had known each other.

"_You…can't…kill…me."_ The G-Man mustered. Gordon lifted his Magnum and pointed it at the G-Man's head.

"Do it Gordon, he deserves it." Adrian said. Gordon turned his head. His gun was still affixed on the G-Man. As much as he hated him, Gordon still didn't want to see the sight of what he was about to do.

"Just DIE!" Gordon squeezed his trigger finger and a loud bang was heard. It was over. The G-Man was dead.

_--Next Chapter: Final Dawn: Part Three - Revelations--_


	20. Final Dawn: Part Three Revelations

**Chapter 20 – Final Dawn: Part Three – Revelations**

He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. This sentence echoed in the mind of Gordon Freeman. He still couldn't comprehend it. He had accomplished the impossible. He had killed the immortal. The G-Man was dead. Adrian had to pull Gordon back to earth after this shock. At first Gordon couldn't hear his friend's voice but, he soon came back to his senses.

"Gordon, what the hell is going on!?" Adrian yelled. Gordon saw that he was looking up at the ceiling. A black hole was forming. Something was absorbing the room. The wall seemed to fall around them. When the wall was about half gone, Gordon recognized something. The room was not disappearing, it was changing. The Anomalous Materials machine morphed as the room fell. Plasma screen TVs appeared above them and the machine elongated. The machine looked familiar to Gordon, but something had changed. The bottom half of it had been completely destroyed. Pieces of machinery littered the floor and the glass walkway that once sat underneath it had been shattered to bits. Gordon could tell that a large explosion had done a number on this room. Battle damage, like that from an RPG, showed on the walls and rubble sat at many places around the room.

"GORDON!" A voice yelled. His attention was pulled from the machine and cast to the other side of the room. A friendly face stared back at him. Alyx, the love of Gordon Freeman stood next to Chell, Barney, and Lo-gen at the side of the Aperture Science Incinerator. Gordon and Adrian ran to their loves. Gordon way has well have tackled Alyx with the force he used to grab her. Gordon wrapped his arms around her and hoisted her up into the air. He kissed her like he was never going to see her again. Alyx spoke they broke the kiss.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again when you walked through that portal." She said. Gordon smiled.

"You aren't getting rid of me that easily." He replied. Alyx smiled as well and kissed him quickly. Gordon set her back on her feet. The couple looked over at Chell and Adrian. They were reacting much the same way they were. They were in the middle of a passionate kiss.

"Isn't that sweet?" Barney said. "How did you three get here anyway?" They didn't quite know. But Rezlan had an explanation.

"The Demon transported us back to Black Mesa. However, The Demon must have been keeping us there by his will. However, when the Freeman killed the Demon, it must have broken his hold on us three and brought us back here." The group accepted the explanation, not caring if it was true or not.

"So is it over?" Barney asked. Gordon nodded. "Good, I was really getting tired of almost dying." Everyone chuckled.

"Gor…Dr….los…" The com-link sputtered in Gordon's ear.

"Izzy? Izzy is that you? Where did you go?" Gordon asked

"Yes, it's me. I lost transmission with your com-links as soon as you walked into GLaDOS's chamber." Dr. Kliener replied. "It was odd, I lost all transmissions but Alyx and Chell's camera sights. I could see what happened at Aperture, but not where Gordon and Adrian went after they walked into the black portals. I just now regained transmission from all of you." Gordon was relieved. He wondered where Kliener had gone after the G-Man showed up."

"What happened here?" Adrian asked. Chell looked up at him.

"Long story short, GLaDOS is dead. A groan was heard. Gordon looked across the room to his left. Zenlo still sat where he had fallen. Adrian and Gordon ran to the fallen prophet.

"Zenlo!?" Gordon yelled as he slid over to the Vortigaunt. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine Freeman. Is the Demon defeated?" he asked.

"Yes, the G-Man is dead." Gordon replied. Zenlo nodded in acceptance.

"You said his name was Zenlo?" Gordon turned to see Alyx's concerned face.

"Yeah, Gordon says that his name is Zenlo." Adrian said.

"He is our prophet, a conduit to the future and all its possibilities." Rezlan added.

"He saved us!" Chell said. "He saved our lives and helped destroy GLaDOS." Gordon looked back at Zenlo. He nodded to signify that Chell was right.

"Really?" Gordon asked. Barney told the story.

----------

Earlier…

"Look out!" the rocket from the small android flew toward the group. A bright light filled the room. Barney thought that they had died. But he still breathed. He looked up. A Vortigaunt stood in front of him. He held the rocket in his hands! Barney couldn't believe it.

"Get Down!" The Vortigaunt yelled. They did as instructed. The group jumped back into the small control room. Barney looked up to see the Vortigaunt throw the rocket at GLaDOS! The rocket hit her with a tremendous explosion. The Vortigaunt ran to the group.

"The Barney Calhoun will rig two grenades on that small machine. This will detonate it's load of rockets, hopefully this will destroy the wretched machine GLaDOS." It said. Barney nodded and readied two grenades.

"What about us?" Barney asked.

"I will protect all of you from the blast." The Vortigaunt replied. Barney took a large breath and ran outside of the small room. He jumped down from the glass walkway and landed on the ground. He ran over to the robot and shoved two grenades onto the back of it. Once he pulled the pins, he ran back before it could lock onto him.

"What are you doing?" GLaDOS asked.

"Say goodnight, bitch!" Barney yelled. He flipped her off and ran into the control room. A second before the grenades went off, the Vortigaunt and Lo-gen stood up with their arms raised to the air. An odd shield formed around them. Barney looked outside and watched the explosion. The rocket-bot was destroyed by the blast and the fire whooshed down a hole below it. Barney guessed that that was where its ammo was stored. The blast detonated the many missles and the power of the explosion was forced back through the tunnel. It hit GLaDOS with all its might. Barney could see the destruction it caused. The glass walkway was torn to bits. Pieces of GLaDOS's giant form broke off and exploded causing rubble to fall from the ceiling and line the floor. When the dust cleared, GLaDOS was only half of her old self. Her orange eye fell to the floor. Barney looked back to thank Vortigaunt, but he was gone. Only Lo-gen remained next to Alyx and Chell.

"Is she dead?" Chell asked. Barney nodded. The group stood up so they could survey the damage. They walked down the steps of the control room. GLaDOS had been defeated. Chell walked over to the pile that remained of her. She rummaged through the things until she found her eye. "Her main mother board is housed in here. Destroying it will shut her down." She explained. They started to walk toward the incinerator. Lo-gen walked back to the control room to open its hatch.

"But who will make cake when I'm gone?" GLaDOS's motherboard was still remotely connected to the speakers in the room. "Someone needs to make cake. Who will make the cake?"

"The cake is a lie." Chell replied to the eye. She turned around to face Lo-gen and she nodded. The Vortigaunt pressed the release button on the control panel. The circular hatch opened up on the incinerator. "Say hello to the weighted companion cube for me." Chell dropped the eye into the fiery hole.

"Goodb…" was heard over the loudspeakers before static took over. The static soon ceased and the room was silent. The group stood there as if mourning the machine. Chell suddenly felt sorry for GLaDOS. She thought that she was a victim of her creators, not of herself. GLaDOS didn't want to do what she did, her programming forced her too. She was just another confused mind. Suddenly, a bright light flashed. It caught the group off guard. They looked across the room towards the entrance.

"GORDON!"

_--Next Chapter: The Prophet of Truth--_


	21. The Prophet of Truth

**Chapter 21 – The Prophet of Truth**

Zenlo the Vortigaunt Prophet lay wounded on the floor. His human friends surrounded him. Gordon, Alyx, Adrian, Chell, Barney, and his Vortigaunt brothers Lo-gen and Rezlan all stood around him. Gordon sat next to him supporting his head. The G-Man and GLaDOS were defeated. The Combine had no chance of winning the war.

"Freeman…come here." Zenlo muttered. Gordon leaned his head closer to him. Zenlo could only whisper. "I used the last of my power…on the demon. I am fading."

"No. No I won't let you die too." Gordon said. He turned to look at Lo-gen and Rezlan. "Isn't there something we can do?" The Vortigaunt brothers shook their heads no.

"Freeman. It is my time…I saw this day coming…I've known it for years…there is nothing that can stop it." Gordon sadly accepted the fate of the dying prophet. "There is however…a tradition." Gordon leaned in again to listen intently on the prophets next words. "It is a Vortigaunt tradition…that when a prophet dies…they pass on their memories to…the last being to see them alive. Be it a friend…or enemy. The Vortigaunt brethren…believe that these memories…keep the prophet's soul alive in life…as well as let them pass on to…Paradise." Gordon was partly excited at what Zenlo was suggesting.

"Do you mean…?" Gordon asked.

"Yes Freeman…my friend…would you like to bear…the memories of a prophet?" Zenlo asked.

"Nothing would please me more than having the honor to bear your memories." Gordon replied. Zenlo gestured for Gordon to lean forward. The Vortigaunt lifted his left hand and placed it on Gordon's neck. Then, Zenlo took his middle, third, arm and placed it over Gordon's chest. Instantly Gordon felt a warm sensation hit his chest. He felt a flowing force coursing through his body and back to Zenlo. The memories filled Gordon's brain and he witnessed them as if he were experiencing them himself. Zenlo had had a hard life filled with sadness and regret, and Gordon felt these feelings in his own heart as the memories filled his mind. The process took about three minutes and ended exactly then. Gordon jumped backward from Zenlo. All the memories of Zenlo's past and the visions of the future had been copied into Gordon's mind.

"Keep those…memories sacred…cherish them…and use them…wisely." Zenlo croaked. "The visions of the future…can be devastating…if used improperly." Gordon nodded in agreement. "Goodbye…my friends. My…time…has…come…" Zenlo's eye faded and seemed to turn gray. He closed his eyelid and took a final gasp of air. He was gone, his soul moved onto Paradise. The last proof of his existence being the memories he passed on to Gordon.

----------

With Zenlo's memories, Gordon finally understood who the G-Man was. The Vortigaunts were a race that had been around since the dawn of time. Xen was the first planet in all the galaxies. It was prophesized that an evil force would one day be born that would cause devastation across the universe and end the time of peace given to Xen at the dawn of time. The Demon would be a Vortigaunt who would be imbued with immortality and power over time and space. It was also prophesized that a select few would be able to force the Demon into a battle that would strip him of his powers and decide the fate of everything. It was over 600 million years until the Demon was born. By then, Xen had prospered as a race of kindness, peace, and love. Certain Vortigaunt children were born with the powers of an oracle. These children were taught to hone their abilities and one day hold high power as Prophets. The Prophets advised the entire Vortigaunt race in almost every aspect of life. Zenlo was one of these children. He would soon rise to the highest ranking Prophet the Xen culture would allow, Prophet of Truth. The Prophets of Truth held the highest amount of power on Xen. Only three held power at a time. Zenlo held power until 100 years before the Black Mesa incident. This was the year that the Demon came to power. Zenlo was devastated as to the identity of the Vortigaunt Anti-Christ. It turned out to be one of his best friends, one of Zenlo's fellow Prophets of Truth. This Prophet broke away from the Vortigaunts after he began preaching of the Apocalypse. The Demon left Xen and created a new planet, the Combine home world. The Demon returned to Xen in a new, more human-like form with the Combine and the Nihilanth to enslave the Vortigaunts. Zenlo and a select many rebels, Lo-gen and Rezlan among them, escaped Xen and fled to nearby planets. 100 years later, The G-Man discovered Earth. He saw the prosperity that the Earthlings had and decided to meddle with it. He used the Xen crystals to allow his Combine to come to Earth, utilizing the portal storms the resonance cascade would cause. Zenlo and the other rebel Vortigaunts then came to earth along with the other Vortigaunts the Nihilanth had brainwashed. The Vortigaunts were later freed by Gordon Freeman, who killed the Nihilanth. Adrian Shepherd later stopped the attack by the Race X aliens that the Nihilanth had created as a breed between the Combine and the Vortigaunts. The Demon hated that the duo stopped his plans, so he lured them into false trust and put them both to sleep. In the twenty years that Gordon was asleep, Zenlo and the others became involved with the human resistance. They helped in any way they could. Zenlo knew what was going to happen, but he believed that revealing the future would cause devastating things to happen when people tried to change it. He stuck by the defense until finally revealing himself to Gordon at White Forest. After this encounter, Zenlo returned to Xen to try and rally the Vortigaunts that remained there. Unfortunately, Zenlo found that the Vortigaunts that had remained loyal to the planet had been slaughtered by the Demon. While on Xen, The G-Man appeared and fought with Zenlo. During the fight, Zenlo lead the G-Man to believe that he had triumphed and killed the Prophet. This satisfied the G-Man because he believed that the future could be changed and Zenlo, the one prophesized to defeat him, had died. The future however, did not change. Zenlo returned and took the G-man's power away from him and allowed Gordon and Adrian to deliver the final killing strike, just as it had been prophesized at the dawn of time. Unfortunately, the power it took to destroy the Demon had taken all that Zenlo had and ultimately cause his death.

----------

Zenlo's funeral was respectful. He was buried right next to Judith Mossman and Eli Vance. The group of rebels stood around all the graves. Like with Judith's funeral, Gordon had put his HEV suit put away and wore regular clothes. He now wore sunglasses as well over his prescriptions. They all stood in front of the three graves in respect of the dead. Flowers and pictures littered the burial plots.

"Here lies a Free Vortigaunt. Prophet Zenlo. Friend of the Rebels of Earth." Gordon said. This was the inscription on Zenlo's grave marker. "It's fitting. Judith and Eli would have been good friends with him." The funeral ended a half hour later.

----------

Later, Gordon and Adrian were sitting at the main desk of the control room in White Forest. Dr. Kliener and Dr. Magnusson were off in a lab somewhere arguing once again while Lo-gen and Rezlan did the work that the two doctors were supposed to be doing. Alyx and Chell were off locking up the Portal gun and Gordon's HEV suit in a vault that Kliener had built. Barney was outside working on cars with DOG. Gordon and Adrian just sat there watching the security camera monitors in the control room.

"Hey Gordon, can I ask you something?" Adrian asked.

"Go ahead." Gordon replied.

"When Zenlo transferred his memories to you, was there anything there like the way any of us was going to die?" Gordon paused. He knew what the answer was, but he was trying to find a way to explain it to Adrian.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I know how all of us are going to die." Before Adrian could open his mouth again Gordon stopped him. "I know what your next question is going to be, and the answer is no. I am not going to tell you how you are going to die."

"Why not?"

"Zenlo's final wish was for me to use the memories carefully and he warned me that visions of the future could be dangerous." Gordon turned his head to face Adrian. "No one should know how they are going to die. They need to live and not worry when their final day is coming. Live every day like it's your last." Adrian chuckled.

"I know you're serious, but that line is so cheesy."

"I know." Gordon and Adrian laughed.

_--Next Chapter: Epilogue--_


	22. Epilogue

**Chapter 22 – Epilogue**

Gordon Freeman sat at the bar with a bottle of beer in his hand. On his right sat Barney Calhoun and on his left Adrian Shepherd. The three former rebels had not changed much in the last ten years, except for the fact that they were all wearing denim coveralls. They were all on their lunch breaks from their construction jobs. They had spent the last ten years working with the rest of the surviving resistance members to rebuild City 17. The amount of survivors was higher than Gordon ever thought. Even after the days of the Combine, there were still enough citizens to meet the original population level of the city and help rebuild it quickly. The re-construction was almost done. It was strange though. Without the Citadel towering over them, City 17 felt much smaller.

"Who's buying this round?" Adrian asked looking over at Barney.

"Don't look at me man." He said. "I think that it's Gordon's turn to buy."

"Thanks for that Barney." Gordon replied sarcastically. "You owe me a beer for twenty years and now you will take any opportunity not to pay."

"Don't blame me, that's just the way I was raised." Barney replied before taking another swig of beer. "Plus, I bought you that beer already."

"Fine, I'll pay today." Gordon looked at his watch. "Well, we've gotta go anyway. If we're late one more time, Izzy's gonna be pissed."

"I highly doubt that." Adrian added. "I don't think Kliener's even capable of anger. Magnusson though…you know what let's go." Gordon and Barney smiled. Gordon paid the bill and the trio walked out. Once they were outside, Adrian lit a cigarette and the three began to walk down the road.

"I thought Chell made you quit." Barney asked.

"She doesn't want me to smoke around her anymore, but she says it's okay when I'm with you guys." He replied. The work site wasn't far from the bar. Dr. Kliener and Dr. Magnusson were working as co-foremen of the building. The city was almost done and this would be the last building that they would be working on completely rebuilding. Kliener and Magnusson stood outside over a table that had the original blueprints for the building. They argued over trivial things as always.

"No, No NO! This wall was knocked down!" Magnusson yelled.

"Oh, really Magnusson? Does it really matter? Can't we just finish this building? I would like to get home tonight." Kliener argued.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." Barney said. "Calm down you two. Jeez, you two act like five year olds on a daily basis. Now, I'm gonna go work with DOG over there, can you two handle the mad scientists over here?" Adrian and Gordon nodded and Barney walked across the build site to where DOG was. The big mechanical pet was more than helpful with the re-building process. He mostly worked with Barney and helped move large pieces of metal or machines.

"Because of that outburst, I'll overlook the fact that you three are three minutes late." Magnusson remarked. "Now we're almost done this building, I'd appreciate it if you would help out."

"Geez, give us a break Magnusson." Adrian said. "Come on Gordon, let's finish this place." The two walked into the building and got to work.

----------

Gordon's pickup truck rumbled over the rocks layering the forest trail. He was on his way home after a long day. DOG followed close behind him. Adrian, Barney, Dr. Kliener, and Dr. Magnusson sat in the car as well, the latter three in the back.

"City 17 is officially rebuilt boys!" Barney said. He put his arms around Kliener and Magnusson. "Now doesn't that just make you two want to celebrate?" Magnusson gave Kliener a look of disgust.

"Barney," Adrian began. "There is no way you are going to make those two get along. I think it's literally impossible." Adrian took out a cigarette and his silver Zippo lighter.

"Really Adrian?" Gordon asked. "We're this close to home and you're lighting another one?" Adrian rolled his eyes and put them away. "I think we all deserve to celebrate. So, later how about we go back to the bar later and Barney buys us a round?"

"Oh, now that's just mean Gordon. That hurt real bad." Barney replied. Gordon pulled up to Black Forest. After the end of the war, Dr. Kliener decided to build a new home for everyone, which was still under some construction. It was much like White Forest, but more accommodating as a home. It didn't go far underground and was built into the side of a mountain a mile outside of City 17. It could house a maximum of fifteen people and had enough room hold everything they wanted. Gordon had dubbed it as 'Black Forest', which everyone (except Magnusson, of course) accepted. From the outside, the house showed three walls. One of which was one complete window. Gordon pulled up to the right side of the house. He shut off the truck and got out.

"Honey I'm home!" Adrian yelled as he walked in the door. Chell walked out from the hallway on the right. She looked slightly older, but really she looked the same as she had ten years ago. She had developed a liking for orange clothes, since wearing that inmate jumpsuit for two years. She now wore a long orange dress that she liked to wear on warm days.

"Hi honey." She said. She kissed him on his cheek.

"What is that enticing aroma?" Barney asked.

"Alyx and I are making barbeque outback for you guys."

"Splendid!" Kliener added.

"If you like barbeques…" Magnusson murmured.

"The Magnusson is still as belligerent as ever." Uriah said behind them. The Vortigaunt had stayed with the group along with Lo-gen and Rezlan. The latter two were still working on some buildings back in the city. The help of the Vortigaunts was greatly accepted in City 17. It accelerated the building process a great deal.

"He's eating inside." Gordon added. The group laughed and walked outback. The terrace that Kliener had created was truly beautiful. There was a brick patio that was immediately outside through a sliding glass door. The backyard was on the side of a small hill, from which a perfect view of City 17 could be seen. The entire city could be viewed from the yard, which Kliener had fenced off for safety. They were not high above the city, but they were high enough to view it in its entirety. The old, decrepit canals had been obliterated by the explosion of the Citadel and did not hinder the beauty of the revived area.

"Hey Gordon." Gordon looked to his left at the woman at the grill. Alyx was working on it. She hadn't changed a bit since her rebel years. Years may have passed, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. She still had a fondness for jeans and still wore her gray Black Mesa hoodie, which she had patched up after the Hunter attack all those years ago. She showed no scars from that attack to this day, a result of the Vortigaunt healing. Two years after the events at Aperture Science, Magnusson became an ordained priest so he could marry the couple. They had been living at Black Forest with the others ever since.

"Hello beautiful." Gordon replied. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He slowly kissed her on the lips. "The City's done."

"That's wonderful." She replied.

"How's he doing?" Gordon asked.

"He's fine. I think I felt him again today. He'll be so happy to see a complete city when he comes home."

"I'll be happy too." Gordon knelt down and kissed Alyx's stomach. She was seven-months pregnant. Dr. Kliener examined her a few months before and concluded that it was a boy. If it had been a girl, they were going to name her Judith Freeman, but as a boy, Eli Freeman. About a half hour later, Lo-gen and Rezlan arrived home and the group sat at the large picnic table outside to eat their food. Gordon stood up with his glass in his hand.

"Everybody. I'd like to make a toast. Today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of the G-Man and the destruction of GLaDOS. And now it marks the first day of the new City 17." Barney and Adrian started clapping. Gordon signaled for them to calm down. "Let us remember this day as the beginning of a new era. Let us remember this day not for the evils we faced all those years ago, but for the memories of friends we will remember forever. Let us take this moment to remember the fallen rebels from the war." Barney spoke up.

"For Eli Vance, Judith Mossman, and Zenlo! The greatest heroes this world has ever known!" he yelled with glass raised. Everyone else replied in the same with a loud "For the rebels!" Gordon continued his statement.

"And let us all live prosperous and long lives ourselves." Gordon said. He raised his glass and took a sip from his cup, as did the others. This statement seemed perfect in the mind of Gordon Freeman. In a way it was, because he knew when every ones' time would come, thanks to Zenlo's memories and visions. He had always refused to tell the others of their times, adhering to Zenlo's final wish. He didn't fret though. His life was happy and he knew he was too. He would be a father soon and he couldn't wait to see what that was like. He turned around to look at City 17 once again. The citizens recognized that the subtraction of the Citadel and the canals made the city seem smaller. However, as Gordon looked over the city, he realized that it was the most prosperous and largest city in the world to him. It was his home now, and it always would be, the home of the last Free Man. Gordon turned back to the table and ate with his friends.

**THE END**


	23. Chapter 00 Author's Notes

**Chapter 00 – Author's Notes**

Hi, I'm EvilProduct. I am writing this final part of my epic tale of Half-Life to answer some of you're questions and minor things I would like to point out.

Chapter 1 – Discovered Feelings

When I wrote this chapter, I really didn't have a story worked out yet. In truth, this whole story started out as my own Gordon/Alyx scene. I got tired that people only expanded on the story (not that I didn't like the other stories). I had only found about two other stories with Gordon/Alyx scenes. At the end of the chapter, I added Barney Calhoun back into the story because I always liked him in the games and I hated that he was nowhere to be seen in Episode 2. He was always good comic relief in the games, so I added his line about a bet between Kliener and him as a way to start the story on a light note.

Chapter 2 – Funeral

"Funeral" is one of my least liked chapters. I still didn't really have a story at this point. I got the chance to re-introduce the characters from Episode 2 as well as introduce a character of my own, Zenlo. I liked the idea that Vortigaunts had names and weren't just referred to as 'Vorts'. Zenlo was my first chance to exhibit the true powers that a Vortigaunt had. The power of teleportation, I believe, is a common power held by all Vortigaunts. However, the power of seeing into the future was a power reserved to the special Vortigaunts. I also brought back the G-Man in this chapter. He was mostly the reason I didn't like writing this one. I only really had in mind the funeral scene and made the rest up as I went along. The pacing was weird, but I kept it the way it was in the end and posted it.

Chapter 3 – Aurora Borealis

This was my first 'information chapter'. My information chapters are the ones where there is really no action, but many secrets are revealed. Although I just restated many facts revealed in Episode Two, I was able to reform the story just enough to actually work in Episode 3 but still keep to my vision. My favorite part about this chapter was that I was taking the already phenomenal game and creating my own ending to it that, I believe, could still work in the real third episode.

Chapter 4 – Hunters of the Forest

The first chapter I was really happy with. I created a stream lined Combine assault along with a fight with a Hunter. The way you fight the Hunters in the game is way to repetitive and I made a version that I thought would be cool.

Chapter 5 – Vile Creatures

Yay, headcrabs! Even though these little critters are annoying in game, they have got to be my favorite enemy. Who doesn't love that they included zombies in a game like this? Anyway, I had intended for the headcrab fight to be more detailed, but I went with what I could come up with.

Chapters 6&7 – Yet Another Problem 

My first two part chapter. I came up with the whole story before writing both chapters and I thought this was going to be my first big battle sequence. So, I presented it in two parts. In the first part, I introduced the underground rebels and their sophisticated base. I liked the idea of the rebels getting organized underground. This is also the first chapter where Gordon and Alyx sleep together. Yes, I know I basically skipped that part, but it's there. I'm not too skilled at writing lemons so I only implied the sex. I was able to keep it open to imagination to those who think that way (I'm not judging). The second part of 'Yet Another Problem' introduces my two favorite characters in this tale, Lo-gen and Rezlan. I originally wanted to have these two be more comical, but I had them play a more serious role after many revisions. The ending of 'Yet Another Problem' shows Alyx and Gordon escaping just before they become zombie chow in my favorite chapter endings so far.

Chapter 8 – Aftermath

I just used this chapter to introduce the rebels at the Aperture Science base as well as bring the survivors together. One thing I have to say is that I gave none of the rebels names. I knew I was going to kill them all off later, so why bother giving them names. It was basically a connector chapter. It also introduced GLaDOS for the first time.

Chapter 9 – GLaDOS

My second information chapter. Once again, I morphed the story just enough to add it to my story. Although he only appeared for a few seconds, I created the character of Maxwell Cross (another one of my favorites). I didn't provide much back story on him, although I may write a tie-in story. I added Adrian Shepherd at the last second. I hadn't intended to include him, until I found a way to bring him back from Opposing Force and it worked out pretty well.

Chapters 10&11 – Snowbound

My second two-parter. I only really named the second part with the same name because I couldn't come up with a better chapter title. I wanted to incorporate the antlions somewhere in the story, so I took my chance and killed off another rebel with them. My version is a creature called the iced antlions. They are antlions, except they have adapted to cold climates and allow icicles to form on their bodies. This chapter lead to the discovery of the _Borealis_. Oh by the way, Lo-gen and Rezlan used hyper powered lightning bolts on the Striders. They had to teleport somewhere else. However, they couldn't teleport to the _Borealis_, as it was easier to teleport back to White Forest (a place they already knew the location of) and conserve their energy after using most of it on the Striders.

Chapter 12 – Ghost Ship

Ah, the _Borealis_ at last. This chapter introduces Mossman as well as brings Chell from 'Portal' back. When I began writing this chapter, I already knew how I wanted it to end. I wanted to reveal that Chell was Adrian's wife. I knew that that would be a bombshell, but I knew I could work with it. I hope you liked that little twist.

Chapter 13 – Subject Name Here

Again, another information chapter. Reveals Chell's backstory as well as the reason GLaDOS went haywire as well as how. This is one of my favorites as well. I also came up with a way to use the portal gun as a weapon. I don't think it is possible for two canceling portals to make the things between them cease to exist, but hey, that's the beauty of fan fics. You are god.

Chapter 14 – Disorientation

The battle sequence in the ice caverns as well as the escape. I had always planned to kill off Dr. Mossman, I just had to find a way how. Originally, she was to sacrifice herself as a diversion and cause the destruction of the _Borealis_ with a bomb, but I couldn't find a way to have it work quite right, so I had her killed by a Hunter. Just so you know, I'm not an expert on explosives, so I don't really know if a few grenades can cause two year old fuel tanks to destroy an entire ship. But again, my story my rules.

Chapter 15 – Calmest Before the Storm

This chapter took me the longest to write. I had figured out how I wanted to end the entire thing, it was just a matter of getting there. 'Calmest Before the Storm' is basically, the return of the G-Man and the beginning of his story arc. Gordon finally learns about Adrian and what he has to do with Black Mesa. The group prepares for their last fight.

Chapter 16 – Black Hole Sun

This is the first chapter where I start getting lazy with the titles. I was playing Rock Band a lot when I wrote it, so I named it after the Soundgarden song. I think it fits nicely. The rebels travel back to the Aperture Science building on the outskirts of Barrow, Alaska (minor 30 Days of Night reference. I didn't say that that was where they were in the official story. I just kept thinking it and never officially stated it, for fear of crossover searchers getting the wrong idea.) The G-Man reactivates GLaDOS and makes Gordon and Adrian follow him into black versions of Chell's portals.

Chapter 17 – The Orange Box

Again, lazy title. But hey, GLaDOS is in it. I named it for the box in which the G-Man kept the Xen crystals. The plot thickens in this one. I split up Lo-gen and Rezlan because I wanted to have them both witness the events for themselves so they could both be in a part of it and compare notes later. I had been giving Lo-gen a lot of dialog, so I let Rezlan go with Gordon and Adrian. Black Mesa returns!

Chapter 18-20 – Final Dawn

I named the sub-titles of these three chapters after the first, second, and final books of the bible. I'm not Catholic or Christian; I just think that the titles are cool and fit well with the theme of the chapters. The three parts show the battle between the returning Zenlo and the G-Man. I also create the prophecies and mysteries of the G-Man (The Demon). You'll have to read it to get the full story.

Chapter 21 – The Prophet of Truth

Hahahahaha! I bet you thought there was going to be Halo tie in here, but no. I had been playing Halo 3 at the time I was writing this one, so I 'borrowed' the title of Prophet of Truth from Bungie. There is no intended crossover here. The Prophets of Truth are the highly respected soothsayers on Xen. Anyway, this chapter details Zenlo's death. I also explained the Demon's full story through Zenlo's memories. I hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter 22 – Epilogue

I knew I wanted to end the story peacefully. This is set 10 years after 'The Prophet of Truth'. I included a bar scene with the three male heroes (after Barney's incessant promises of a beer with Gordon.). I also had Adrian take up smoking as well. City 17 has been rebuilt and Alyx is pregnant with Gordon's son. The entire group is living at "Black Forest". For a better picture of Black Forest, picture a mountainside home, where anybody walking by can perfectly see into the kitchen because of the one wall being entirely a glass window. I wanted to have White Forest be the home, but I couldn't find a way to convert the base into a functional multi-family home.

Thank you once again for reading my story. I love Half-Life and had a lot of fun writing this fan fic. I appreciate and wish for your valued reviews, I know I'm not the best and I am thankful for your input. I may make minor adjustments to the chapters now and then. Feel free to point out any mistakes I may have made. Ask any questions you wish, and I will include my answers in this section. Thank you for your valued reading once again. I shall leave you with this, my favorite phrase in all of video game history.

**THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!!!!**


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